New Beginnings
by Rivan Warrioress
Summary: Thea finds out she's pregnant with Roy's baby, and, along with Roy and the rest of Team Arrow, embarks on a journey through what promises to be one of the most interesting times of her life.
1. Chapter 1

Thea Queen clasped her left hand over her mouth, a pose she had been using quite a bit lately, although this time it wasn't because she was about to throw up. Her legs shook beneath her, and she slid down the wall of her bathroom before they gave out beneath her completely.

Time seemed to have lost all meaning, and Thea had no idea how long she spent huddled on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, one hand over her mouth, the other trembling as she gazed, transfixed, at it, or rather the object she was holding with that hand. A fat tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

Closing her eyes, blocking out the sight of the object, Thea dropped her forehead onto her knees, groaning quietly to herself at her own stupidity. How on earth had she let this happen? They'd been careful…both of them knowing that their lives were too dangerous…too unpredictable, to risk something like this happening.

Now, if the pregnancy test she was holding in her hand was anything to go by, it had happened. She was pregnant…she was going to be a mother, and her boyfriend, Roy, was going to be a father.

Thea's heart clenched fearfully as she thought about what Roy did every night…serving Starling City as one of its protectors…the vigilante known as Arsenal. Thea knew how much protecting Starling City meant to Roy…she understood his loyalty to her brother Oliver and the rest of their team…Felicity, Diggle and Sara, but, as she sat on the bathroom floor, Thea realized that she, without even thinking about it, had rested her hand over her abdomen, where their child was only just beginning to grow and develop.

The idea of their child losing his or her father before they'd even been born terrified Thea. She knew the pain of losing a father all too well, but she hated the idea of Roy never getting the chance to meet their child because of how he spent his evenings.

Ever since Oliver had told her about his vigilante life…since Roy had told her about how involved in everything she was Thea had experienced nightmares…of walking into the basement of Verdant and finding Oliver dead on the metal table used for medical procedures…or of Oliver knocking on her bedroom door and telling her that something had happened to Roy. Thea had lost count of the number of times she'd woken up screaming, only calmed when Roy had held her in his strong arms, reassuring her that everyone was fine…that nothing bad had happened.

Thea startled violently when she heard the distant sound of her apartment door opening, a soft, gentle voice calling her name. A smile flickered across Thea's face. She honestly couldn't be happier for Oliver that he'd found Felicity. They were perfect for one another…if only they'd realize it.

When Oliver's inner darkness threatened to overwhelm him Felicity could always bring him back to the light. She had that affect on everyone, if Thea was honest with herself. Felicity was the shining light that they all fought to protect, the innocence that they wanted to preserve in the world.

That wasn't to say that Felicity wasn't dangerous in her own way. Thea knew that everyone…even her biological father Malcolm, had a healthy respect for what Felicity could do to you if you threatened those she was closest to. Sara hadn't held back in her admiration for the hacker when she'd told Thea and Nyssa about the time Felicity had taken a bullet for Sara before she'd knocked a guy out using his own virus.

"Thea…are you in there…are you ok?" Felicity called through the bathroom door, knocking on the wood gently. Thea swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

"Felicity," she croaked out, "come in,"

The door swung open and revealed Felicity standing in the doorway, dressed comfortably, as if she'd just come from the Arrow Cave, as Roy and Felicity jokingly called it. Thea glanced at her watch, having not realized how late it was. She'd gone into the bathroom to take the pregnancy test immediately after Oliver, Roy, Felicity and Diggle had left her apartment for Verdant. Usually she went with them, but she'd begged off with being tired and having an early morning meeting, and Roy and Oliver had been more than happy to leave her behind so she would feel better. Now though, it was passed midnight, and Felicity was here in Thea's home…which meant the boys wouldn't be far away.

"Thea…Thea what's wrong…are you okay…Are you sick…I can call Roy and Oliver and get them to come straight home…they were talking about just training for a bit before calling it a night, but if you need them then I'm sure they'll come." Felicity gasped, dropping to her knees in front of Thea and immediately beginning to check Thea for a fever or any other signs of illness.

Thea shook her head, "I'm…I'm fine, Felicity."

"What's going on?" Felicity asked rocking back out of Thea's personal space. It was then her eyes fell on the little white stick in Thea's hand, her eyes widening as she reached p to adjust her glasses, just to make sure she was seeing correctly.

"Ohhh…is that what I think it is?" she asked after a moment.

"Yeah…it is," Thea nodded, her own gaze dropping back to the pregnancy test, the little blue plus sign just as clear as it was initially.

"And…it's positive?"

"Yeah…Oliver's going to be an uncle."

"You're going to be a mom," Felicity corrected, reaching into Thea's personal space once again. Thea tensed minutely, her own recent training regime making her uncomfortable with people being so close, but she relaxed when Felicity's arms wrapped around her in a reassuring hug.

"Congratulations, Thea…I'm so happy for you…you're going to be a great mom…or, um, actually, maybe not the best thing to say…this is a good thing, right? Are we treating this like it's a good thing?"

Thea shrugged, "I've always wanted to a have a baby…but our lives are so…" she faded off, not knowing the best word to describe their unique situation.

"Unpredictable? Dangerous? Uncertain?" Felicity suggested.

"All of the above," Thea nodded, "I can't risk brining a baby into all of this…craziness."

"Dig and Lyla have…and so far that's going okay," Felicity offered reassuringly, and Thea had to concede that Felicity had a point.

"I'm just scared that something will happen to him…or her. I've lost both of my parents, and I thought I'd lost my brother…I can't go through losing a child as well…and what about Roy? He's never told me anything about his family…and if he ever wants to have children himself."

"Thea I am far from an expert when it comes to love, but even I can see how much Roy loves you…how much he'd love your children. He loves playing with Arabella; I think he'd make a good father. You should tell him about this…unless you're thinking about…" Felicity faded off, but Thea knew what she was implying.

"I don't think I'd ever be able to do that," she told Felicity, "not with what we'd gone through it's just…with everything that's going on right now it'd going to be dangerous for everyone. My baby will be Roy's child, Oliver's niece or nephew, and Malcolm Merlyn's grandchild. They're never going to be safe."

"We'll find a way around it." Felicity told her firmly.

"I'll have to tell them soon…very soon. I can't risk training like I have been, not now, and I'll need to go to my doctor to confirm that I am actually pregnant and it's not a false positive."

"Do you think it could be a false positive?' asked Felicity curiously. Thea considered it for a moment, before she shook her head.

"No…I think I knew I was pregnant even before I took the test. I feel…different, and all of the symptoms match up, from what I've heard. I'm tired, I've been throwing up lots, mostly in the mornings, my period is late, which is uncommon, but I just thought I was stressed, and my boobs have felt weird."

"Sounds like being pregnant to me, from what I've read," Felicity nodded. Thea gave the other woman an assessing look.

"Are you?' she asked.

Felicity choked, "Me, no, God no. Aside from the fact that I haven't slept with anyone in years, which you don't need to know, I don't think it's possible to find someone that would be interested in having a family with me when I spend most of my time in the basement of a nightclub helping vigilantes save the city."

Thea scoffed at Felicity's comment, thinking immediately of Oliver and the smile that being around Felicity always put on his face, the way his eyes would rest on her, follow her around the room, when he thought no one was watching. Thea had had her suspicions about the pair long before she'd left Starling City to train with Malcolm, but now she'd had some training it was even more painfully obvious.

"If you don't want to tell Roy yet, I'll go to your doctor's appointment if you want, for moral comfort or something like that," Felicity offered, "we could go out for lunch afterwards, make a day of it."

"I'd like that. I'm glad you're around, Felicity." This time it was Thea who initiated a hug between the two women, although Felicity returned it eagerly. Thea smiled to herself as Felicity ran her fingers through Thea's short hair. Felicity might not be dating Oliver (yet) but she still felt more like Thea's sister than anyone else Oliver had ever shown an interest in.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting at home waiting was not Thea's favorite thing. In fact, she couldn't think of very many things she hated more. It was made bearable, this time, however, by the surprise she was going to drop on Roy the moment he came home from training with Diggle.

She eyed the little box innocently sitting on her kitchen bench, dropping her hand into her lap, running her fingers gently over her still flat stomach. Her doctor had estimated that she was about seven weeks into her pregnancy…still far too early to have any form of bump, but Thea still found it oddly reassuring to rest her hand over the area where her and Roy's baby was growing.

Only a few short days had passed since the night that Thea had taken the Pregnancy test. True to her word Felicity had accompanied Thea to her doctor's appointment, which had taken place that very morning chattering away about the most inane things to keep Thea's mind off what was going on. Thea was privately impressed that Felicity had managed to keep the secret for so long, although she knew that Oliver suspected something was amiss. Roy probably did too…he wasn't stupid, despite how she'd often told him he was.

After the doctor's appointment Thea and Felicity had gone out for lunch together, just as they'd planned. On their way they'd walked past a baby boutique, and Thea had dragged Felicity inside. It had been fun, cooing over the tiny clothes, and despite the fact it was so early on in her pregnancy, Thea hadn't been able to leave without a couple of little baby outfits.

It had been risky, going into a baby boutique like that, with Thea being so well known within Starling City, but Felicity had given some coverage, chattering at length, and in a voice that would carry to anyone who was eavesdropping, that they were shopping for her cousin's baby shower. Thea had gone along with the ruse, inwardly surprised at how easily Felicity came up with the lie. It was proof of how much Felicity had learned about being sneaky and deceptive since she'd first started helping Oliver.

Once they'd finished shopping and their lunch Felicity had dropped Thea off at home before she'd gone on to Verdant to run some updates. Thea had taken the opportunity to get everything set up for Roy's surprise, before she relaxed on her comfortable couch.

Thea wasn't ashamed to admit that she'd dozed a little that afternoon, her body still adapting to the fact it was carrying another life within it. It probably didn't help that she'd been hit hard by morning sickness that morning, and had therefore not had any breakfast, although it had mostly passed by the time she'd had her doctor's appointment. She had still felt rather nauseous, but Thea had put it down to nerves more than anything.

By the time that Roy knocked on her door, however, Thea felt refreshed and wide awake as she rose to her feet and crossed over the room to the door, pulling it open with a smile.

"Hey," Roy greeted her with an affectionate smile. Thea beamed and stepped close to him, wrapping her arms gracefully around his neck and leaning in so she could kiss Roy. Roy returned the kiss eagerly, his fingers running through Thea's hair, causing Thea to moan contentedly.

"How was your day?" Roy asked once they'd separated.

Thea tilted her head thoughtfully, "Felicity and I went shopping, and we went out for lunch, it was fun."

"Felicity told us, she sounded like she enjoyed herself." Roy told her as he stepped over the threshold of the apartment.

"There's something for you on the bench."

"For me?" Roy asked, confusion seeping into his voice, "It's not my birthday, or our anniversary is it? If it is I am so sorry."

Thea couldn't help but laugh at the fearful look on Roy's face, kissing him reassuringly on the kips.

"No…nothing like that. Why don't you go and open it."

Thea closed her apartment door as Roy walked towards the kitchen, looking curiously over his shoulder at her as he went. She bit her lip to prevent her giggles from escaping her as he picked up the box, tied with red ribbon, and began to open it.

Thea wished she had a camera recording the moment Roy removed the lid of the box, and his gaze fell on the contents of the box. The pregnancy test that started it all, innocently lying on top of a couple of the cute baby clothes that Thea had picked out earlier that day. Her favorite, by far, was a little red hooded jumper, in a very similar shade to the protective gear that Roy wore when he was helping Oliver that Thea had fallen in love with. She'd stuck to gender neutral choices, since she didn't know if she was having a boy or a girl, which had limited her choices a little, but it was enough to get the message across to Roy, judging from the look of shock on his face.

"Are you okay?" Thea asked, taking a few steps towards Roy, as she noticed how his face had lost almost all of its color, and he looked like he was about to pass out.

"Are…are you…are we?" Roy stammered, looking from the box in his hand, to Thea, and back at the box.

Thea smiled, "Yeah, we are. I'm about seven weeks in…I went to the doctors today to confirm it, but I did the test a few days ago."

"We…we're going to be parents" Roy offered softly, setting the box down on the bench and focusing fully on Thea, who nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Are you okay?" Roy asked, "You're not having any issues or anything?"

"A little morning sickness and I'm getting tired more quickly, but nothing outside the normal. Everything is going well so far."

A smile broke out across Roy's face at that piece of news, and he strode back across the room to Thea, engulfing her in a hug, although he was very gentle about it.

"I love you so much, Thea." Roy told her, before he kissed her deeply. Thea blinked, feeling tears gathering in her own eyes.

"I love you too; Roy…does this you're okay with this, then? I mean…I know we hadn't really talked about this, and I know that with things it's probably not the best timing, but I can't bring myself to go and have an abortion, and…"

Roy's lips on Thea's ended her babble, and she moaned into the kiss.

"I've been spending too much time with Felicity." She muttered to herself once Roy had pulled back a little, casing Roy to chuckle gently as he showered the rest of her face with gentle kisses, his hands cupping her face as he worked his way all over her face, before he moved down her neck and along the ridge of her shoulder, before Roy looked down at her with a beaming smile written across his own features, as he gracefully sank to his knees in front of her, gently lifting to top of Thea's tank top to expose the skin of her abdomen.

"Does this answer your question?" he asked, before he began kissing his way across her flat stomach, paying particular attention to the areas closest to where their child was growing.

"Hello, little one," Roy said quietly, "I know you're still really little, and you've got lots of growing to do before we get to meet you, but I'm your daddy, and I want you to know that I love you, and I always will, no matter what happens. I will always protect you and your mommy, from whoever wants to hurt you both."

Thea sobbed, and Roy looked up at her, before he pressed one more kiss to her stomach, before he rose to his feet and kissed her again.

"I meant it, every word," He told her, "nothing is going to stop me from being there for the two of you. I am going to be a good dad for this baby, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that, Roy Harper." Thea replied seriously, before they kissed once again, their joined hands resting over the flat skin of Thea's stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, who else knows" Roy asked as he and Thea lay on Thea's couch later that evening, with Thea comfortably using Roy as a cushion. Soon it would be time for them both to go to the Arrow-Cave for the evenings patrol, although there was no way Thea could consider actively participating.

"Just Felicity, although Oliver probably suspects, and Malcolm as well, I guess. He's bound to have people watching me…waiting."

Roy swallowed, "you don't suppose that Oliver will be offended by the fact that I got you pregnant. He's never really approved of us, after all."

"That was a long time ago. You two are friends in your own right now…not just through me. He trusts you to have his back out there," Thea gestured out the window of her apartment, "I think he'll be okay."

Roy's uncertainty was thick in his voice, "I know that he trusts me out in the field…it whether or not he trusts me with you, especially now you are pregnant with my baby."

"Well…he's just going to have to get used to the idea…because none of us are going anywhere."

"I guess," Roy nodded, kissing the top of Thea's head.

"Felicity will calm him down, even if he does get aggravated…and he won't hurt you, if that's what you're worried about. He won't want to do something that might impact how well you can protect us. He'll probably change up how the team works in order to protect you. He'll treat you like he's treated Diggle since he found out that Lyla was pregnant with Arabella."

"Yeah…he will. It'll put a lot of strain on Oliver and Sara though."

"Laurel is getting better, maybe she could help out sometimes…and I'm not saying you can't go out at all, just that Oliver might try and keep you at more of a distance."

"I know that…and I get it. I don't want to die and leave you alone with the baby. I want to see him or her grow up. I want to see them smile for the first time…say their first words…take their first steps, go to their first day of school. I want to cheer for them at their little league games or go to ballet or music recitals. I want to teach them how to ride a bike, and send them off to high school. I want to see them get into a good college and go off to prom with their friends. I want to see them graduate and be happy with their life, whatever they want to do with it. I want to see them meet someone who makes them as happy as you do…somebody that they love as much as I love you. I want to be there when he or she tells us we're going to be grandparents. I want to be there to drive them insane by loading their kids up with sugar and noisy toys and then sending them home. I want to be there to make sure they get the childhood that I never got."

"And you will," Thea told Roy, rubbing his hands thoughtfully, "Ollie will make sure of it."

"Speaking of Oliver…we probably should go…face the music and everything." Roy sighed.

They quickly got ready to leave and made their way downstairs to where Roy's car was parked in the secure basement garage attached to the building. Roy and Thea were silent as Roy drove towards Verdant, although it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. They often looked over at one another, both of them smiling happily.

When they reached Verdant Roy took Thea's hand and they walked in together, taking the stairs and descending down into the basement together, relieved to find that everyone else on the team was present. Felicity took one look at the pair and beamed, turning quickly towards her computers to hide the expression from Oliver.

"Hey, Thea, it's been a while," Sara greeted casually, eyeing the couple's joined hands curiously. While it wasn't unusual for them to arrive together, Thea knew that she and Roy weren't usually so affectionate in front of the rest of the team.

"Are you feeling better, I was getting worried," Oliver said, approaching the pair. Roy was tempted to take a step backwards, but he resisted the temptation, standing his ground beside Thea.

"About that," Thea cringed, "I haven't been completely honest about why I've been avoiding training for the last few days."

"You've been faking sick to get out of training?" Oliver asked, disappointment thick in his voice. Roy cringed inwardly at his tone, but Thea brushed it off.

"Well…I thought that you wouldn't want me training when it would be putting your niece or nephew in danger," Thea shrugged. Roy immediately scanned the faces of everyone in the room. Diggle had dropped the file he was carrying on the ground in shock with a loud thud, and Sara and Laurel were both standing and staring at them in shock, their gazes fixed on Oliver, Roy and Thea as their mouths hung open.

Oliver, for his part, had frozen, his mind trying to process what he'd just been told.

"You…you two are going to be parents?" He finally asked. Thea moved a little closer to Roy in response to Oliver's question.

"Yes, we are…is that a problem?"

Roy ducked his head, kissing the top of Thea's head, gripping her hand as she stared Oliver down.

"No…not at all, congratulations." Oliver finally concluded after a lengthy pause. Thea immediately brightened up, stepping away from Roy and letting go of his hand so she could throw herself into her brother's arms. Roy felt himself relax, even if it was only a little, at Oliver's reaction. He looked up to Thea's brother, and the older man's potential reaction to the news had been terrifying Roy ever since Thea had told him about her pregnancy.

Roy glanced across to where Felicity was sitting, and she beamed happily at him, wiping happy tears from her eyes with a tissue, before he looked back at Thea, smiling as Oliver lifted her up and spun her around once, causing Thea to let out a girlish squeal, before Oliver set Thea carefully back on the ground and turned his attention to Roy, outstretching his hand towards Roy. Roy took the hand in his own, stumbling when instead of shaking it, Oliver pulled him in towards him, before he hugged him as well.

"Don't you dare hurt her or the baby, alright? You do, and nothing I've ever done to the criminals of this city will even come close to comparing what I would do to you, understand." Oliver threatened Roy in a hushed tone as Thea was pulled into a warm embrace by Sara.

"I would rather die than hurt Thea or our child. If I d hurt them, then I'd let you do whatever you want to me. If possible, I'd help make it even worse for myself." Roy replied truthfully.

"Good," Oliver clapped him on the back as Diggle joined them, "now that I've gotten the being Thea's brother part out of the road I can be your friend again…although it still feels strange to congratulate you on getting my sister pregnant."

"Trust me, we weren't planning it," Roy admitted, "We were actually trying to avoid this, but now that it has happened we're both really excited."

"Trust me, he says this now," Diggle laughed, "He'll be singing a different tone in nine months when he's running off no sleep and is going insane due to sleep deprivation. Trust me, I've been there."

"Um…thanks, I think?" Roy commented sarcastically, and Oliver shook his head.

"If you need help, you know where to find us."

"Uncle Ollie to the rescue, huh?" Diggle teased.

"If you ask me Uncle Digs is going to be just as important as Uncle Ollie and Auntie Felicity," Roy offered. Oliver clapped Diggle on the back, although he sent an approving look at Roy for the comment.

"There you go, Uncle Digs, you can help out too. Maybe Arabella can have play dates with Roy and Thea's baby once he or she is a little older. Trust me, if their kid is anything like Thea was as a baby…we're going to need all the help we can get."


	4. Chapter 4

Lying in bed beside Thea was something that Roy knew he was never going to get used to, even after they'd been together for so long. He was still amazed when he looked at her as she dozed, caught up in the afterglow of an epic round of sex, that she had decided to be with him. That she, so perfect in every way, had chosen him to be her boyfriend. Him, Roy Harper, a flawed no-body from the Glades. A criminal with no family or connections, no money, a high school drop out with very little chance of ever succeeding in the world.

And yet, here they were, laying in bed together, a baby on the way and for once everything looking positive.

"What are you thinking about?' Thea's sleepy voice cut through Roy's thoughts. A smile spread across his face.

"How good everything is right now…how lucky I am to have someone as perfect as you in my life" he told her. Thea giggled, moving a little closer to him so she could kiss him, her hand resting on his bare chest, tracing patterns on his skin.

"I wouldn't say I'm perfect," Thea admitted, "but I think I'm the lucky one. I don't think there is anyone on earth who could love me as much as you do."

Roy felt his cheeks go red at Thea's comment, but the darkness of Thea's bedroom hid it well. Instead he kissed Thea, his fingers cupping her face gently, as he tried to convey how much he loved her into the kiss. He rolled them over, so Thea was on her back, and began pressing kisses across her body, paying special attention to her breasts, still so very sensitive as her body adapted to her pregnancy, as Thea giggled in pleasure.

A month had passed since Thea had told him of her pregnancy, and she was now twelve weeks in. An official statement for the media had already been prepared, although Thea had wanted to hold off on releasing it until she'd passed her twelfth week, just in case something happened, although so far things had been going perfectly. The PR department of Queen Consolidated would read out the statement on the coming Friday, and Diggle had already started making preparations for the media's response, by making sure Thea's apartment building was secure, and making sure that there was an adequate number of security guards to handle the media presence at the building.

For the moment, though, nobody seemed to suspect Thea's pregnancy at all. There had been a couple of photos of Felicity and Thea when they were out for lunch the day of Thea's first appointment, but the captions for the photos merely had speculated on the fact that Oliver Queen's secretary and his sister were out having lunch together, and what that meant for Oliver's status as a bachelor than anything else. Obviously Felicity's trick in the baby boutique had worked enough to make their appearance in the store not interesting in the slightest to the paparazzi.

It wouldn't be long, however, before it would be difficult to hide Thea's pregnancy. Already, if Roy looked closely enough, he could see the smallest of bumps in Thea's previously flat and toned stomach, and he could definitely feel it if he ran his hands over Thea's stomach. Thea too could feel it, and Roy had often seen her resting her hand over the tiny bump protectively.

Sometimes, when they fell asleep in bed together, it was common for Roy to wake up spooning Thea protectively, both of their hands resting over the little bump that was evidence of their child's growth and existence. Thea was scheduled to have her first ultrasound in a week and a half's time, and Roy was already eagerly looking forward to the moment he would see his baby for the first time, but for now being able to touch Thea's baby bump would be enough.

Diggle and Lyla, as a joke, had bought them both pregnancy and baby books, although Roy and Thea had viewed the books as being vital sources of information, and had been reading them religiously ever since they'd received them.

The way that they'd both read the books had, however, highlighted the fact that, other than Lyla, or perhaps Felicity's mother, they didn't have anyone to go to for information. Roy's own mother had died from a drug overdose when he was twelve, and Slade Wilson had killed Moira Queen during his reign of terror in Starling City.

It hadn't just been Thea and Roy who had come to that realization, either. Felicity had researched pregnancy extensively, although she hadn't passed a lot of her research on, as it had all been conflicting and Felicity had been uncertain about the sources of the information, and Lyla had invited Thea around to her home several times to talk about things, something which Thea, and Roy by extension, were both extremely grateful for.

It had proven helpful already, when Thea had become worried by the fact that she could already feel the baby bump, when her book had told her not to expect that until about her fourteenth week. Lyla hadn't been concerned, though, reasoning that Thea was thin and athletic in build, so it made sense that the baby would show a little earlier than normal.

Roy knew that he would always be grateful for what not only Lyla, but Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, Sara and Laurel were doing for he and Thea, supporting them as much as they could as they got used to the idea of being parents…but it wasn't just them that Roy knew he owed.

With his connections it was impossible for Malcolm Merlyn not to know that Thea was pregnant, even if they had the media fooled. Despite everything that had happened between Merlyn and Oliver's team, nobody doubted how much Malcolm loved Thea, and the fact that, for the moment, Malcolm was keeping his distance, meant a lot to Roy, and Thea as well, although neither of them had said so.

Still…Roy was under no illusions regarding how long Malcolm would keep his distance, and he only hoped that when he did show his face he wouldn't do something that would hurt Thea's feelings, or put her at risk from his enemies. Roy knew that Thea did have some training after all, and was definitely better than him at a lot of aspects of fighting, but he knew she would be the first to admit that she wouldn't stand a chance against a more experienced fighter, or someone from the League.

And, well, privately Roy was glad Malcolm hadn't appeared yet, because while Oliver scared him sometimes, it was nothing compared to how much Malcolm intimidated the crap out of him, and Roy was terrified of what Malcolm was going to do to him after Roy had knocked Malcolm's daughter up.

Roy wasn't stupid after all.


	5. Chapter 5

Thea lay on her back, giggling as the cool gel being applied to her stomach tickled slightly. Roy grinned at her, kissing the back of Thea's left hand, which he was holding in his own hands. Thea's other hand was clenched nervously by her side as she watched her doctor, a kindly, middle aged woman named Dr. Elizabeth Johns, get the equipment ready.

Thea had known Dr. Johns since she was eleven, and the doctor had been one of the steadiest figures in Thea's life ever since then. Thea wasn't sure that she would be able to trust anyone else to look after her during her pregnancy other than Dr. Johns.

As of today she was officially fourteen weeks pregnant, and she was going to have her first ultrasound. If Thea was honest with herself she'd been anticipating this moment since she'd received confirmation that she was actually pregnant, but now that the time had come Thea's excitement and anticipation had reached fever pitch, her happiness unable to be quelled, although there was no reason for her to be unhappy.

The criminal element of Starling City had been mostly quiet for the last month, which meant that she hadn't been worrying about Roy and Oliver, her pregnancy was going well, her morning sickness had begun to ease, although it hadn't ever been really bad to begin with, and everything just seemed to be going nicely in her life. Thea was happier than she had been in years, since before the earthquake wiped out half the glades and ended up with Tommy dying and Moira in prison. Of course, Thea wasn't naïve enough to think that the good times would last forever, but she was enjoying it while it did.

"Are you ready for this, Thea" Dr. Johns asked, and Thea nodded, as Roy kissed to top of her head reassuringly, before resting his head beside hers so they could watch the screen connected to the ultrasound scanner together.

The screen flickered to life and Thea felt her heart leap into her throat as she held her breath in anticipation of seeing her baby, Roy's hand gripping hers tightly as an image appeared on the screen, sound coming clearly thought the speakers attached to the machinery.

'Is that…"Roy began softly, his voice thick with awe and choked up with emotions.

"Baby's heartbeat," Dr. Johns confirmed with a smile, watching the screen herself to learn as much as she could about her patient's baby.

"Oh my god," Thea choked out, tears of joy and excitement running down her cheeks, only to be wiped away gently by Roy before they fell onto the surface of the examination table Thea was lying on, "I can't believe that it's our baby in there."

"Thea, hold still for a moment, I want to take a closer look at something," Dr. Johns instructed, gently, although a surge of panic shot down Roy's spine.

"What is it, is everything ok?" he asked anxiously. Dr. Johns watched the screen as she moved her ultrasound wand a little to a different spot on Thea's stomach, before she shook her head, her smile becoming broader.

"No…nothing's wrong, Mr. Harper. Thea, congratulations, there is a second baby in there, you're having twins."

"What?" Thea gasped as Roy's mouth fell open in shock.

"Twins?" he finally croaked out. Dr, Johns nodded and gave a little laugh, taking out a pen and using the end of it to point to the screen.

"See that patch there…that's Thea's bladder, but this part here is what we're interested in," she told them, pointing to a different area and moving the wand to bring that area to the centre area of the screen, "This is one baby…you can see his or her head, body, legs, and arms, and here is the second baby, also with head, body, legs and arms."

"Are they ok?" Thea asked nervously.

Dr. Johns nodded, "Their heartbeats are great, well within the expected rates for fetus' their age. They look like they're growing well too…maybe a little smaller than the average for twins at fourteen weeks…which might mean that we were a little out when we estimated their due date, but otherwise it all looks great."

"Can you tell if they're going to be identical or not?" Thea asked. Dr. Johns pursed her lips thoughtfully and studied the image on the screen.

"I think I can confidently say that there is an 85 percent chance that they're fraternal twins, but they may still look very similar. They are not sharing a placenta, which strongly hints at them being fraternal, but again, it's hard to know for sure without doing a DNA test.

"It doesn't matter," Thea shrugged, "They're still perfect…aren't they, Roy. Roy?" Thea tuned her head away from the screen to look at Roy, only to smile fondly at the tears that were rolling down Roy's face. This time she wiped them away.

"Hey…what's wrong?" she asked.

"I never thought I'd get this chance," Roy replied, "and now…now we're looking at them…and there's two of them, and they're so perfect, and I can't help but think what the hell did I do to deserve this…deserve them…deserve you."

Thea cupped Roy's face with her hands and kissed him, before she ran her fingers through his hair.

"You are a good person, Roy. You deserve this…you've earned this, ok?"

Roy nodded, before he let Thea wipe the remaining tears away, and they both looked back up at the screen.

"It's too early for me to tell the sex of the babies yet, I'm afraid, if you wanted to find out…and neither of them are positioned right anyway for me to tell."

"That's ok," Thea shrugged, "we've spoken about that, and we've decided not to find out. It'll be a good surprise when they're born."

"Not to mention the fact that not knowing will drive Felicity up the wall," Roy added with a smirk. Thea snorted and nodded in agreement.

"Ok then," Dr. Johns made a note in Thea's file, "Now, about your due date, we originally had you penciled in roughly for early February next year, didn't we?"

Thea nodded, "Yeah, the 8th of February we guessed," she confirmed.

Dr. Johns studied the ultrasound footage on the screen, "I think I'm going to put your due date back a week to mid February, the 15th, I think. The twins are a little smaller than I anticipated, although twins often are born a couple of weeks earlier anyway, so don't be surprised if they come on the 8th anyway, but…it helps you guys with planning things and all that, and gives me a rough guide."

Roy and Thea nodded in acceptance, "I guess this explains why you were showing a little earlier than you expected," Roy offered quietly, and Thea nodded, the smile on her face not going anywhere.

"Am I right in guessing that you're going to want lots of copies of you twins' first photos?" Dr. Johns asked with a wry smile, and both Thea and Roy looked at one another, nodding simultaneously.

"Diggle isn't going to believe it unless we have proof."

"I wonder how excited Felicity is going to get?"

"She'll babble about the likelihood of twins occurring, and Oliver will be watching her with that look he gets when she babbles on about stuff that no-one else really understands…which will get me off the hook for the glare he'll send at me initially for getting you pregnant with twins," Roy added.

Thea snorted, "Err, Roy…I don't think Oliver can rightfully blame my having twins on you when he has already gotten used to the idea of us having a baby. My body is the one that decided to do weird things that ended up with twins."

Roy blushed and ducked his head for his mistake, and Thea cringed. She knew enough about Roy's childhood and teen years to know that attending school hadn't ever really been a priority for him. Thea had always known that Roy hadn't ever attended high school, having dropped out midway through eighth grade, and she knew how sensitive he was about his lack of education. She kissed the top of his head reassuringly as Dr. Johns quietly went about finishing off her notes, and beginning to pack away the machinery.

Half an hour later Roy and Thea, hand in hand, walked out of Dr. Johns' office, the envelope containing the ultrasound pictures carefully placed in Thea's handbag. Both of them were oblivious to everything else going on in their lives, the way Roy spent his nights as a vigilante, everything that they'd gone through in the past, both together and individually. It all faded to memory as they reveled in the moment, feeling just like any other young couple that was experiencing their first pregnancy.

As they waited at the elevator Roy couldn't help but pull Thea into a kiss, laughing as she threw her arms around him excitedly, her joy and excitement highly contagious. They rode the lift together in silence, only because they spent the entire time with Thea pressed up against the elevator wall as Roy passionately kissed her, and by the time they stepped out of the lift both of them were looking decidedly ruffled. Luckily Dr. Johns' office was in a building with a secure underground car park for her patients to use, so they could make their way to Roy's car without seeing anyone, something they both noticed and although they said nothing about it, they were both incredibly grateful for.

As planned, the previous week the Queen Consolidated PR team had released a statement announcing Thea's pregnancy, and since then there had been a noticeable increase in the amount of Paparazzi following Thea around. Even though they had arrived by car, Thea knew that there would be a cluster of at least ten photographers and reports waiting at the entrance of the underground car park, or at the door to the building, waiting for her and Roy to emerge. There would be another cluster at her apartment building, and yet another at the Queen Consolidated main office, just in case she went to see Oliver immediately after her appointment.

Neither of them had any plans of going to see Oliver and tell him the unexpected news, though. They'd arranged to meet up with him, Thea and Diggle in the basement of Verdant that night anyway. This afternoon was reserved specifically for them.

In hindsight Roy didn't remember much of the drive from Dr. Johns' office to Thea's apartment, too focused on Thea's hand resting on his thigh, the looks they kept sending each other, as if they were a pair of love struck high school freshmen.

Both Thea and Roy, however, would remember the way, the moment Thea unlocked her apartment's door, Roy had picked her up and carried her across the threshold, kissing her hungrily…passionately, groaning into her mouth as Thea ground into his thigh, trapping his face between her hands, her fingers tangling with his hair.

It was only the beginning of a sex marathon that lasted for hours, the pair finally falling asleep, passing out from exhaustion, when they were finally sated, Thea's lust and desire for Roy's body quelled for the moment. They'd both read about pregnancy sex…about how Thea's hormones might make her especially interested in sex, but they hadn't been prepared for what it would entail.


	6. Chapter 6

That evening, blushing slightly, Thea and Roy stumbled into the basement lair together holding hands and trying to act like they hadn't spent most of the afternoon in bed making love, walking in on Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, Sara and Laurel mid discussion about the latest criminal organization trying to set up shop in Starling City.

Upon seeing them, the group's mood immediately brightened, and Oliver walked over to them to pull Thea into a hug.

"How did things go today?" Diggle asked curiously once Oliver had let Thea go and they'd walked over to the rest of the group. Thea beamed, and Roy couldn't prevent the smile that spread across his face.

"Did you get pictures?" Felicity almost bounced excitedly, matching Thea's degree of excitement as Thea reached into her handbag and produced the photos, passing them over to Oliver and Felicity, who both immediately looked at them; their heads so close they were touching, although they were oblivious to the contact for once. Roy was fairly sure it was the first time that he'd seen Oliver so focused on something other than Felicity

Felicity let out a loud squeal, "Oh my God…are you having twins?"

"Yep" Thea announced, before Felicity pulled her into a hug, before she embraced Roy as well. Oliver was still staring at the photos in shock, until he finally passed them over so Diggle, Sara and Laurel could have a look.

"Congratulations," Oliver finally told them, pulling Thea into another hug and kissing the top of her head. Roy watched on, wishing, not for the first time, that he had somebody in his family that was still alive…or at least cared enough about him to be genuinely pleased for him and Thea when it came to the twins.

While it was true that Thea didn't have a lot of people in her life close enough to be considered family, she had Oliver, and Walter Steele, and even Malcolm Merlyn cared a lot about Thea…probably more than he cared about any living person other than himself. Roy's father had been a cop, but he'd been killed in a shoot out with a gang when Roy was four. His mother had died of a drug overdose when he was twelve, and Roy avoided thinking about his stepfather as much as possible.

Still, this was important. Thea was the one carrying twins, so of course she was the more important one. Hell, it was Thea. No-body, except maybe Felicity, could replace Thea as the most important person in Oliver's life. Besides, Roy was just Oliver's sidekick…his protégé. On a personal level that meant nothing.

Roy startled when he felt a large hand clap him on the back, turning slightly to see Diggle smiling at him, and Sara leaning in to hug him.

"Twins, that's amazing," Sara beamed, "Do you guys know gender yet?"

"The doctor said it's too early to tell from an ultrasound, and we decided that we would wait until they're born as well."

"She did tell us that they're probably going to be fraternal twins…non-identical." Thea added

"Statistically speaking most sets of fraternal twins are a boy and a girl," Felicity offered helpfully, "Although that doesn't matter for the moment. We should celebrate…once we deal with this gang"

"What's up?" Roy asked, slipping into a more businesslike manner. This was serious…he could focus on processing the news of the day later on. Now he had criminals to catch and lives to save.

ARROW

Although Thea had been expecting it, she still jumped and startled the day she walked into her apartment and found Malcolm standing in the middle of it, looking at her with a strange look on his face. It was a sort of mixture of pride, fear and skepticism.

"Hello," Thea greeted cautiously, putting her bag down and stepping lightly across the room, despite the slightly increased size of her stomach. Only a few days had passed since she'd learnt that she was expecting twins, but with every day Thea had noticed that the tiny bump was growing, little by little.

"You've been keeping secrets…something you and Oliver have in common."

"Are you seriously lecturing me on keeping secrets? After what I've been through in the last few years…after what you've done in the past, do you really blame me? I know that you're my father, and that you trained me in how to defend myself, and I appreciate that, but I was happy keeping you a certain distance. Besides, I'm pretty sure you've got this place bugged, so you've probably known about this for longer than Roy has."

"Yes, I have…and I'm glad that I did. Finding out through the newspapers…that would have been a blow. They are my grandchildren after all."

"I know that," Thea rolled her eyes, "what I want to know is why come now? Why not earlier?"

"At first I wanted to give you some time to adjust to the idea. Steering clear of you seemed to be a good way of keeping you happy, so I kept my distance. I was also out of town temporarily for the last week, although I returned immediately when I learned that you had conceived twins. I bet you weren't expecting that? Twins don't feature at all in your mother's family tree."

"And you're saying that they do on your side of the family?" Thea asked.

Malcolm nodded, "My mother was a twin, believe it or not, so I always knew that there was a possibility of you having twins, assuming that I passed that gene on to you. How are they going?"

"They're fine, my doctor was happy with how big they are and how they're positioned and anything. It all looks normal so far."

"And what about you?"

Thea frowned, not really prepared for the question, "Since when do you care?"

"I've always cared, Thea."

"Really?" Thea asked sarcastically, "Because you have a funny way of showing it." 

"Thea…a father is allowed to be concerned about his daughter, especially when she's pregnant for the first time, regardless of what other…errors, he has made in the past."

Thea rolled her eyes and shook her head, giving up mentally. It wasn't worth clashing heads with Malcolm about this.

"I'm fine. Roy's been taking good care of me. I'm not throwing up much at all now, so they think I'm over the morning sickness, and I'm healthy in every other way. I'm not getting so tired now, but Oliver has told me that if I want to stop managing Verdant he can take it back over if I want him to at any stage. I don't think I'm at that point yet. I'll have to wait and see how things are going later on closer to my due date."

"When is that…I plan on being as close to you as I can. While I won't be able to be at the hospital, I would at least like to be in the city if possible."

"Mid February, around the 15th. Originally it was early February, but things got put back a week after the ultrasound," Thea told him honestly, knowing that there was little that would keep Malcolm from gaining that information. At least if she told him it meant that he wouldn't need to resort to bribery, torture, or even killing someone in order to get information.

"I look forward to it. When will Roy be joining us?"

"He wasn't going to be coming back here tonight the last I heard, he was going to be staying back late with Oliver, and then he was going back to his place so he wouldn't wake me up when he got here."

"Have you put any thought into your living arrangements?"

"What?'

"Well while this apartment is nice, it's not as though it's big enough for you and two babies, even if Roy doesn't move in with you…and I refuse to even consider the idea of you living at his…dwelling, in the Glades."

"He's mentioned moving in together, but I wasn't sure I was ready for that." Thea admitted, "But a lot has changed since then. That was back before I was pregnant."

"Is there trouble in paradise I wonder?" Malcolm offered thoughtfully, but Thea whirled at him angrily.

"No. You're the one who's bugged my apartment; you should know how good things are between Roy and I. Most night's he's here, but he does sometimes need to put an appearance in at the Glades, otherwise people will get suspicious. He's sweet, and he's so happy, and he loves me and our children."

"I'm glad to hear that, because if you were not happy then I would need to be having a word with your Roy."

"Oliver's already given him the shovel talk…numerous times over."

"Well, that's good. He can back me up then. I'm sure that, if we combined out efforts, we could knock young Roy into shape for you, should you need us too."

"You will not beat up my boyfriend just because I got pregnant!" Thea yelled. Malcolm smirked and held up his hands as if to show he was unarmed.

Thea scoffed, "I'm sure you know by now that it takes two to tango…and, well…it's not like you can talk. At least neither of us is married to someone else."

"Yes…but your mother and I were quite a bit older than you and Roy are now."

"That just means that you should have known better. I'm happy that this has happened…why can't you see that?"

Malcolm rolled his eyes, "Like it or not, Thea, I am your father… It's my job to want to protect you…and a part of that is being very protective when your daughter s pregnant, regardless of who the father was and whatever history is there between all involved parties."

"So this isn't about Roy being from the Glades and having a criminal record and helping Oliver?" Thea asked curiously. She'd been under the impression that Malcolm didn't like Roy, but maybe she was wrong.

"He's made bad choices in his life, ones that we all know he regrets, but then, I don't think a single one of us hasn't. As for being from the Glades…well, I honestly can't blame him for the events relating to that, as much as I don't like it. His loyalty to Oliver and his cause is to be commended, and I will admit that his love for you is undeniable…but he is an outsider…a variable that I cannot control, and that is what concerns me. I love you, Thea…and I hold some affection for Oliver, despite our disagreements of the past, but I do not know Roy well enough to trust him with something like this."

"Well…I do trust him," Thea replied, "It's my life…my choice. I love Roy, and I don't think that, after everything you've out us through, you have the right to say anything. What would you do, anyway? Kill Roy?"

"No," Malcolm admitted heavily after a lengthy pause, "Not unless he does something to hurt you or the children."

Thea tilted her head slightly, "Really?" she asked curiously. Malcolm nodded, although Thea thought it looked like it physically hurt him to do so.

"You are carrying my grandchildren, a part of my legacy. You know the pain of losing a good father, even if he wasn't biologically yours. So long as Roy behaves honorably towards you and your children then I could not be responsible for inflicting that sort of pain on your children, regardless of how I feel about the individual in question," Malcolm explained.

"Roy isn't going to hurt me," Thea confidently told her father, her hand resting on her bump.

"Then I suppose I'm going to have to get used to the idea of having him around then," Malcolm admitted

ARROW

"Is it just me, or is Malcolm Merlyn really intimidating?" Roy asked as he and Oliver walked into Diggle's apartment, having both been invited for dinner. Felicity, Sara, Thea and Laurel had also all been invited, but they, along with Lyla, had had a girls day, with a trip to the movies, followed by lunch and shopping, and were expected to arrive soon. Diggle, having stayed home to look after Arabella and to prepare dinner for everyone, snorted.

"It's just you," He told Roy, who grunted, crouching down to coo at Arabella, who was happily sitting in her play pen and cradling her teddy bear in her arms, watching the three men with her expressive eyes. Oliver couldn't hide the smile on his face as he watched Roy interact with the baby, knowing that, despite his past, Roy was going to be a great father once his own children were born.

"It's understandable," Oliver counseled, "He is the one responsible for the Glades Earthquake, in addition to who knows how many murders and other crimes."

"And the fact that Roy is dating his daughter…and he is the father of her children."

"Well, that too," Oliver conceded.

"Guys, you're not helping. I mean, he literally got kicked out of the league for being too evil."

"Thea seemed confident when she said that Malcolm wouldn't do anything to you unless you did something to hurt her or the twins," Oliver observed, "In which case there wouldn't be anything left, because I would have already killed you."

"And we're just taking Malcolm's word for that?" Roy asked, "The guy hates me."

"Merlyn hates everyone, except Thea," Oliver shrugged, "I wouldn't worry too much about it."

Roy pouted and turned away from the other men, focusing instead on Arabella, who giggled in delight as he rolled a toy ball towards her, clumsily stopping it and rolling it back towards him.

"Your dad and Uncle Oliver aren't very nice sometimes," he told the baby, who simply smiled and gurgled in response.

Roy couldn't help but smile back at the toddler, "Tell me about it," he agreed


	7. Chapter 7

The first time Thea felt the first, tiny fluttering movements within her she was in the Arrow cave, meditating on the mats with Sara while Roy and Oliver were out chasing a gang that focused on stealing and then reselling cars. It was a little outside Oliver's normal area, but the gang in question was doing mechanical work on the vehicles while they were in their possession, replacing parts of the cars that were working well and replacing them with dangerous imitations. Already there had been eight fatal accidents caused by the gang due to either brake pads failing or the steering column detaching completely while the cars were being driven around the city.

All thoughts of the case, however, were far from forefront in Thea's mind when she felt the first few movements in her stomach, a slight fluttering, almost like butterflies. At first she'd ignored it, assuming it was just her stomach grumbling or something along those lines, but it had continued, and Thea smiled and opened her eyes as she realized what was going on, resting her hand against the now much more noticeable bulge in her once taught stomach.

"Thea…are you okay?" Felicity asked from where she sat, the sound of her voice snapping Sara out of her mediation, both of them sending concerned looks her way.

"I...I think I can feel them kicking," Thea explained, "It kind of feels like butterflies."

"That's amazing," Sara offered her eyes wide in awe. Felicity jumped up and ran over to the mat, sitting down with Thea and Sara to share the moment with them

"19 weeks…just about when it's supposed to happen…roughly," Felicity beamed.

"You've researched this sort of thing, haven't you?" Sara asked teasingly.

Felicity blushed, "I might have borrowed Roy's pregnancy book once he'd finished reading it. Don't worry; he has it back now in case he wants to look something up. The book said anywhere between 15 and 25 weeks the kicking would start, first time moms generally being later on, so they're following that timeline I guess."

Thea couldn't help but shake her head fondly at Felicity's actions, grateful to have the IT specialist in her life.

"Yeah…at my last doctor's appointment Dr. Johns said it wouldn't be long before I started feeling kicking. As long as they're not hurting each other I don't mind."

"Well…they are Roy's kids…I'm pretty sure they're going to get into fights sometimes." Sara observed thoughtfully.

"Not too much, though. We've already got enough fighters without these two beating each other up." Thea laughed, Sara having made a very valid point.

Felicity's phone rang, and she hurried to answer it. In the not so distant past Thea would have actively tried to eavesdrop, but she was to content sitting on the floor with Sara, resting her hands on her baby bump and wishing she could feel the twins moving again within her. She knew that at first she wouldn't feel the movements very often, and that as her pregnancy became more advanced the kicks would become more frequent and stronger until the twins ran out of room, but it had been an amazing experience to go through.

Eventually Felicity called over to them loudly, hand clasped over the phone, "That was Oliver, everything is fine, and they're on their way back, the gang members they caught have been handed over to Captain Lance."

"Can you ask one of them to pick up some curly fries on the way back?" Thea asked hopefully, and Sara snorted loudly.

"Sure, I'll pass on the message," Felicity told her, before retuning her attention to her phone. Sara eyes Thea speculatively.

'So…cravings huh?"

Thea nodded, "Yeah, I feel like curly fries right now."

"You know what they say about craving salty foods,"

"Supposedly I'm having a boy…but then I had massive cravings for Ice cream yesterday, and I ate about a block of chocolate the day before that…so how does that work?"

"Well, you are having twins, maybe you're having one of each," Sara suggested. Thea shrugged, rubbing her thumb over her bump. A boy and a girl…she would be happy with that.

Really, though, she'd be happy with any gender combination. As long as they were healthy and happy and safe she wouldn't care what gender they were.

ARROW

Thea had been in bed for awhile when she felt Roy move beside her, obviously having thought that she was already asleep. She stayed still, keeping her eyes closed as she waited to see what he was doing. Honestly she was surprised that Roy was still awake. The last week had been very busy, and Roy had been lucky to get one or two hours sleep every night, having picked up a new daytime job, in addition to working shifts at Verdant at nights, and of course being a vigilante protecting Starling City as well. It had been obvious, now that they'd finally caught the current bad guy (or in this case, girl), the strain that Roy had been under, with the deep shadows beneath his eyes betraying his level of exhaustion. Thea had caught sight of the concerned looks Oliver, Diggle, Felicity and Sara had been sending towards Roy, and knew she wasn't the only one who had noticed.

For the moment, though, Thea pushed her concern aside and lay still; faking being asleep as Roy shifted quietly down the bed, slowly and carefully lifting the t-shirt Thea was sleeping in over her bump, leaving the rounded skin exposed. Tenderly, Roy kissed the exposed skin there.

"Hey kids," he whispered, "I'm sorry that I haven't been around a lot lately. Your Uncle Oliver and I have been busy catching the bad guys. That's only part of the reason, I haven't been around but I don't want you to blame him, ok. It's not his fault. He's a great guy, and he's trying to make Starling City a better place…a safer place for you, and your mom, and Auntie Felicity, and Arabella, and Auntie Lyla, and everyone else who lives here."

Roy broke off, pressing another kiss to Thea's skin. Thea cracked her eyes open, smiling to herself as she watched Roy gazing earnestly at her rounded stomach. At 21 weeks Pregnant with twins there was no way to hide her bump. Despite the fact that none of her favorite clothes fitted any more, Thea loved her bump, and what it meant.

"The rest of the time I've been away from your mom has been because I've been working. The pay isn't great, but at least I'm brining something home. Your mommy has told me, lots of times that I don't need to work, that neither of us could work and we could live off her trust fund, and we'd still be fine financially, but…but I can't do that. I don't want to even chance the possibility that you guys might have to grow up like I did, never knowing where the next meal was going to come from…always hungry, not having a roof over your head. I don't want that for either of you. I love you so much, my little perfect miracles. I hate being away from you two and your mommy, but I have to do this because I love you and your mommy so much. Please forgive me." Roy's voice broke, and he wiped tears from his eyes his gaze drifting up Thea's body until it fell on her face. Roy froze, as if he was a little boy who had just been caught stealing cookies out of the cookie jar.

Thea reached down, wiping a few stray tears from Roy's face with her thumb, smiling as she felt the babies kicking and moving within her.

"They forgive you," she told him gently, "I forgive you. I understand that you don't want them to have to live like you did."

"Thank you," Roy smiled in reply, before Thea took his hand in her own and guided it to her stomach, right where the kicking was at his strongest. Roy's jaw dropped open.

'Is that?"

"See…they forgive you," Thea told him, happy that finally she could share the feeling of their children moving with someone else at last.

Roy beamed, his eyes glistening with unshed tears as he gazed in wonder at Thea's stomach. "I hope you're being gentle with your mommy. I love you both so much, and I can't wait to meet you both, even though that is still a long way away." he told the twins seriously, before he kissed the skin beside where his and Thea's hands were resting.

"They're getting really active…especially at night times. I'm blaming you and Oliver for that," Thea told Roy, who gave a sheepish laugh,

"I'm sorry," he apologized, and for waking you p tonight. I just wanted to talk to them; I didn't mean to wake you. You need to sleep, you're the one carrying twins."

Thea shook her head, "No, Roy. It's okay. I'm glad that you talk to them. At my last appointment Dr. Johns told me that they probably can hear us now…so you talking to them now means they'll recognize your voice later."

"Really?' Roy's voice was full of amazement, and Thea made a mental note to make sure Roy joined her for her remaining doctor's appointments until the twins were born. He'd missed the last one due to his new job, and it was obvious how much he was disappointed at missing out on learning more about their children.

"Yeah. I can't get over how developed they are already."

"I know, it's amazing," Roy agreed, before retuning his attention to Thea's stomach.

"You hear that, little ones, you're amazing, both of you. You're so clever already."

One of the twins gave a kick in response to the comment, and Thea snorted.

"I think they agree with you," she told Roy, who laughed getting to his knees and crawling back up the bed before lying down close to Thea, moving his hand back to where it was previously on Thea's bump.

"You promise you won't push yourself too hard though, Roy?" Thea asked softly, "I know you want to work, but two jobs, plus helping Ollie out every night…I don't want you to exhaust yourself. It's one thing to bring home enough money to support us without needing to touch the trust fund, but I need you healthy more."

"I know, I promise I'll be careful." Roy nodded. Thea smiled kissing Roy gently, before they settled down, content in feeling their children move in Thea's stomach as they both drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

"They've been kicking a lot lately," Thea admitted to Walter as she walked around her apartment, her phone pressed to her ear and her gaze looking out over the Starling City skyline as the lights twinkled brightly, "at first they were really faint, but they're getting stronger every day. Last night Roy felt them for the first time. He was talking to them and they started kicking his hand through my skin. It was so sweet to watch, he was crying and telling them how much he loved them, and how much he was looking forward to meeting them."

"I'm glad to hear it," Walter told Thea through the phone, "I'm glad that young Mr. Harper has brought some joy and happiness to your life and that you are starting a family together. Your mother would be very proud."

"Thank you, Walter," Thea smiled, wiping a stray tear from her face as it rolled down her cheek, her emotions beginning to get to her once again…something that had been occurring with increasing frequency as time progressed as her hormones fluctuated wildly due to her pregnancy.

"Unfortunately I won't be able to visit when the time comes, business is rather busy at the moment," Walter apologized, "but I will come as soon as I can."

"That's okay…I think between Oliver and his friends were going to have lots of people around at first," Thea admitted, and Walter laughed.

"Oliver is being a typical older brother then?"

"Yeah. Roy was terrified that Oliver was going to castrate him when he first found out. It's a good thing they already were good friends with one another before I fell pregnant. Oliver's still keeping a close eye on us though."

"I suspect he always will. He loves you very much, and I am sure he will love your children just as much."

"I think so too," Thea nodded, sitting comfortably on her couch and swinging her legs up onto the cushions, admiring her brightly colored toenails.

"Alright, well, it must be getting late there, I'll leave you to get to bed, you must be getting tired."

"Thanks Walter. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye Thea, pass my greeting on to Oliver and Roy."

"Will do. Bye Walter."

Thea hung up and dropped her phone onto the couch beside her, stretching sleepily and wincing as her back cracked slightly.

She'd spent the day working at Verdant. She'd stopped helping out behind the bar during opening hours, and Oliver pretty much refused to let her walk around the club floor when it was open, but she was still doing all the administrative and managerial jobs that she could do from her office. Sara, Roy and Oliver had taken over the other jobs that Thea couldn't do, whenever they could, and Felicity and Diggle were collaborating with running security whenever they could too.

As it was, though Thea felt exhausted after a day's work in her office, and now she was quite ready to go to bed, although she wanted to wait until Roy either came home, or called her telling her that he was going to be late. He was usually home by now, and after an argument early in her pregnancy, if he was going to be late he called her. So far neither of them had happened.

A particularly strong kick from one of the twins brought her from her thoughts, and she rubbed her stomach soothingly.

"Shhhh….it's okay," she soothed, "I'm sure Daddy is ok. He's just busy. Uncle Ollie will take care of him, I promise. It's okay,"

Hoping to sooth her unborn twins, Thea began to sing a lullaby that she remembered Raisa singing to her when she was little. She remembered Oliver singing it to her too, so she figured that Raisa had sung it to him as well when he was a baby.

It seemed to work, as the babies seemed to settle down, and Thea wondered if they'd actually fallen asleep.

Not wanting to move from her comfortable position on the couch, Thea closed her eyes, thinking that she might take a leaf out of the twin's book and have a nap while she waited for Roy. She felt her body relax, and was very close to drifting into sleep when a sudden knocking on her apartment door roused her from her sleep, startling her into full awareness. She stared fearfully at the door, slowly reaching beneath the solid wood coffee table and pulling on the handle of the knife she had stuck there not long after she moved in.

She rose to her feet, rubbing her stomach through her t-shirt as she crept across the room as quietly as she could when she was 21 weeks pregnant with twins. She was almost there when there was another round of pounding on the door.

"Thea…its Oliver," Oliver's voice called, and Thea immediately lowered the knife, reaching out and undoing the numerous locks that secured the apartment, pulling the door open. Oliver strode over the threshold quickly, and Thea closed the door after him.

"Ollie…what's going on…where's Roy?"

Oliver ignored the question, taking Tea by the arm and guiding her gently towards a chair, but Thea struggled.

"No…Oliver, what is going on? Talk to me."

"I need you to sit down and stay calm, Thea, if not for you, then for the twins, ok?" Oliver told her, and Thea felt her knees go weak, her struggles ceasing as Oliver got her to a chair and she sat down in it heavily.

Tears shone in Thea's eyes, "No…he's not…tell me he's not dead…Ollie, please don't let him be dead," she pleaded as she shook her head.

"Roy's alive, but he is hurt pretty bad. Diggle, Sara and Felicity are doing their best for him, but it's serious."

"Could you take him to a hospital?" Thea asked faintly.

"Not without raising significant questions. If he deteriorates more we'll have to take him in, but for the moment he's better off where he is."

"Where is he?"

"In the lair."

"Take me there," Thea ordered, beginning to rise to her feet. Oliver, however, put his hand on her shoulder.

"You need to prepare yourself, Thea. It…It's bad. He might not make it. He's lost a lot of blood."

"Just take me there. I need to be with him."

"All right," Oliver nodded, grabbing Thea's jacket off the back of a chair, where Thea had tossed it, while Thea grabbed her purse and keys, before he lead her out of the apartment.


	9. Chapter 9

Thea chewed her lip anxiously the whole drive from her apartment to Verdant, trying to ignore, the way that Oliver kept shooting nervous sideways glances at her. She knew her eyes were shining with tears, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Instead of wiping her eyes, she rubbed her hand on her stomach, reassuring herself that at least the parts of Roy she carried within her were safe. The twins were staying still, for the moment, but feeling the swell of her stomach was enough to reassure Thea of their safety without the twins kicking and moving around.

The journey to Verdant seemed to drag on forever, even though Oliver took the most direct route, and there weren't too many cars on the road to create traffic issues, but after what seemed like an eternity to Thea, they finally arrived, Oliver parking behind Roy's car. Thea sniffed and got out of the car, Oliver appearing at her side in an instant, taking her hand reassuringly and squeezing it gently as he began to lead her to the back door into the club.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Honestly, no," Thea replied thickly

Oliver stopped mid stride and put his arm around Thea's shoulders instead, "Hey…Roy is strong, and he's got everything to fight for. He's not going to let himself give up, and Diggle and Sara know what they're doing." He told her, lifting her chin so their eyes met, "If he has any say in the matter he'll be back on his feet before you know it."

With that said, Oliver continued walking them both forward, guiding Thea through the door and locking it securely behind them before he led her towards the stairs that led to the basement.

As they walked down the stairs Thea felt everyone looking at her. Laurel and Diggle were standing beside one another near the foot of the stairs, while Sara and Felicity were standing beside the gurney Thea knew that Roy would be on, blocking her view of him, although she could see the monitors at were attached to his body via various wires and tubes. She was surprised to spot Malcolm, watching her from beneath the salmon ladder, but Thea was more focused on Roy, barely hearing Oliver's voice as he spoke to Diggle.

"How is he?"

"He's doing better than I expected," Diggle reported, "All things considered he's doing well."

Thea tuned out of their conversation, ducking out from beneath Oliver's arm and walking around Diggle and Laurel so she could approach Roy's bedside. She was only just aware of how Laurel left Diggle's side and followed her instead, ready to support Thea if it was needed. Thea, however forced herself to be strong, forcing herself to ignore how much she wanted to break down and cry, especially when Felicity and Sara moved and she caught sight of Roy, but she continued on until she reached the side of the gurney, reaching out and brushing her fingertips against Roy's.

Roy was motionless on the bed, except for the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. An oxygen mask covered his face, but even with that Thea could she how pale he was. A bag of blood, presumably Roy's own, taken and stored just in case it was needed, was attached to an IV pole, a tube running from the bag to the needle in the back of Roy's right hand. Thea cringed, remembering how much Roy hated needles.

The lower half of Roy's body was covered by a warm grey blanket, and his shirt was off, revealing the thick wad of bandages covering Roy's abdomen and the bruising already beginning to show on his ribs. Thea swallowed the urge to throw up at the sight of Roy so pale and gaunt, almost like a corpse. If it weren't for the way Roy's chest moved with every breath he took, and the machinery monitoring his vitals, Thea would have thought him to be dead.

"What happened?" She asked, leaving the question open to anyone who felt like answering.

"We were trying to stop a gang that had been targeting a homeless shelter," Sara offered, "There were more of them than we expected."

"Roy was helping get the civilians out of the way of the fight…but he was attacked by a group of gang members," Oliver added, "One of them stabbed him with a knife."

"How bad is it?" Thea's voice was thick with emotion as she began to run her fingers through Roy's hair

Diggle took a step towards her, "Oliver left to go tell you Roy was injured straight after we got him back here, and Malcolm arrived not long afterwards. Between the three of us we got him stabilized. It looks like none of his major organs was hit, but he lost a lot of blood. It looked a lot worse than it was at first. His blood pressure has been unpredictable, at best, but otherwise he's doing well"

"Which makes me wonder…why did you come?" Laurel asked Malcolm suspiciously.

Malcolm's gaze lingered on Thea and Roy, "Because, regardless of whether I like him or not, he is the father of my Grandchildren, and the partner of my daughter. I know the pain of losing the one I love, more than any of you. I would not dream of letting my daughter experience that sort of pain, not if there was some way I could help prevent it. As for my grandchildren…I do not want them to grow up not knowing their father."

Thea tore her gaze from Roy's inert form to look up at Malcolm. Their eyes met, and she gave a short nod of Thanks, which Malcolm returned, before Thea dropped her gaze to Roy.

"Here," Felicity said softly, brining over a chair for Thea to sit in. Thea gave a weak smile, taking it from Felicity and sitting down at Roy's bedside, knowing that nothing would be able to tear her away from Roy while he was unconscious.

God help anyone who tried.


	10. Chapter 10

"Roy…I need you to wake up…please wake up?" Thea quietly told Roy, resting her hand against his forehead, "I need you to get better, ok? I need you, and the twins need you. You have to survive this. I don't think I can do this on my own."

Despite Thea's soft pleading Roy remained still. Six long hours had passed since Oliver had brought Thea into the lair, to Roy's bedside. Sara and Diggle had both reassured her that it was okay that Roy hadn't woken up yet, he had lost a lot of blood after all, and his vital signs were steadily improving and not fluctuating so much, but Thea was desperate to see Roy open his eyes again.

Felicity, Oliver, Laurel and Sara had all tried to convince her to go and have a sleep, even if it was just in the small bed Oliver kept in the corner, but Thea couldn't bring herself to leave Roy's side, despite how tired she was getting. She'd been tired before Oliver had arrived at her door, but now, six long, anxious hours later, exhaustion was well and truly setting in. Despite how heavy her eyes were getting, though, Thea refused to let herself drop off to sleep, terrified that Roy's condition would worsen and she wouldn't be there, or that he would wake up she wouldn't be there to reassure him.

In her head Thea knew that it wasn't as though she and Roy were alone in the lair. Oliver and Sara were with them still, and were showing no signs of leaving, having sent Diggle, Felicity and Laurel home to sleep. Malcolm had left of his own accord about an hour into Thea's vigil, gently squeezing her shoulder on his way out.

Sara and Oliver were keeping a discrete distance, giving Thea some semblance of privacy as she sat at Roy's bedside, although Thea could tell that they were watching her closely, despite the fact that whenever she tore her gaze from Roy they were both busy doing something…or at least pretending to be busy doing something.

Still, it was oddly reassuring to know that they were there, watching over her as she watched Roy sleep. It stopped her from feeling lonely, even though they weren't interacting with her unless it was to ask her…again, to try and get some sleep.

Even if she had, momentarily, left Roy's side to go to the bathroom a couple of times earlier, Thea wasn't going anywhere now. There had been a couple of times in the last hour when Roy had stirred, as if he was beginning to wake up, although he'd always returned to his sleep.

Tenderly Thea began to comb her fingers through Roy's hair, hoping that the contact might somehow register in Roy's mind, and that it might bring him around more quickly.

It appeared to be working, because Roy let out a soft moan, and turned his head towards her resting his cheek against her palm.

Thea smiled, "Roy…Roy, wake up, come on, wake up, it's okay, you're safe. I'm here."

Roy's hand twitched, and Thea placed her hand in his, letting him grip her fingers gently as his eyes fluttered open.

'Thea?" he groggily asked. Thea nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks once again as relief flooded her system.

"Hey Roy," she greeted, 'I'm here, it's okay."

"You ok?" Roy asked softly, his eyes focusing on Thea's face as she nodded.

"I'm fine…I'm not the one who got stabbed…again."

"Twins ok?"

"Yeah, they're fine…I think they're having a sleep right now, but they were moving around a fair bit earlier."

Roy smiled, although his eyes betrayed how much pain he was in. Thea glanced over her shoulder, towards where she had last seen Oliver.

"Ollie, he's awake,"

Roy let out a muffled groan as he tried to move, and Thea immediately moved her hand, pushing down on his chest, carefully restraining him.

"Don't move," she told him as Sara and Oliver quickly approached them, "You'll pull your stitches."

"I don't think I could move, even if I wanted to…damn I feel like shit," Roy admitted as Oliver and Sara reached the gurney.

"That's what happens when you lose over 30 percent of your total blood volume," Sara told Roy brightly as Oliver quickly went about checking Roy's bandages.

"The stitches are holding," He told Thea and Roy, "but you need to be careful. You'll be out of action for at least a few weeks."

"What if you need me, though?" Roy asked.

"We'll be fine," Oliver reassured him, "you just concentrate on getting better and leave fighting the bad guys to us."

"They're right," Thea added soothingly, "It won't be for long."

Roy nodded and relaxed against the gurney, His eyes already fluttering as he fought against the urge to sleep. Sara went to the medical cabinet and withdrew a vial of mild painkiller, carefully adding it to Roy's IV. The bag of blood that had been there had long since been drained into Roy's system, and now there was a bag of fluids up there, preventing Roy from becoming dehydrated on top of everything else.

Within a minute Roy was sound asleep again, leaving Thea watching him, her hand back in his as she wiped the rears from her eyes with her free hand.

"Come on, Thea, you need to rest," Oliver gently told her, taking her arm with his hand, "You won't do much good to him exhausted, and the twins need you to be strong too."

"I'll stay with him," Sara promised solemnly, "and You don't need to go far, you can use Oliver's bed in the corner if you want."

"Thea, Please," Oliver begged, "I can't risk something happening to you as well. Just a few hours, that's all."

"Ok," Thea finally admitted, knowing that Oliver was right. She wasn't doing Roy, the twins, or herself, any good by letting herself become exhausted just because she wanted to stay at Roy's side. She moved to stand, but it quickly became apparent that she'd stat for far too long, her leg buckling beneath her. Oliver, however, caught her before she fell.

"Thea…are you okay…do you need to go to the hospital?" Oliver anxiously asked, his eyes wide and fearful.

Thea rolled her eyes, "I'm fine," she told Oliver, "just…a bit tired…and I've been sitting down for too long."

Oliver let out a heavy sigh, carefully sweeping Thea up into a bridal style carry and walking over to his bed, gently depositing her on the soft surface.

"Go to sleep," he told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "and don't scare me like that again."

"Ok," Thea smiled as Oliver brought the blankets up to tuck her in, "although I think I'm a little old for this, I'm going to be a mom in a few months."

"You're always going to be my little sister though," Oliver replied with a grim smile, "and that means I still get to fuss over you and make sure you stay healthy…and I can tuck you in when I need to."

"As long as you don't try and do it when Roy's healthy and we have sexy times planned."

Oliver choked and his hand slipped off the edge of the bed at the comment, while Thea grinned at his reaction.

"Goodnight, Thea," Oliver told her once he'd regained his breath, turning his back and walking away from the bed, flicking a switch to dim the lights in the lair. Thea finally let herself relax, secure in the knowledge that it appeared that Roy would make a full recovery.

Within minutes she was sound asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

"How have things been?" Dr. Johns asked Thea and Roy as they sat down for Thea's 24 week appointment, which would also be when her second ultrasound would take place. Three weeks had passed since the night Roy had been stabbed, and he had almost fully healed, only a mostly healed scar to add to Roy's collection being left over from that night. Sara had taken out the stitches last week, although Oliver had yet to decide when Roy would return to active duty. For the moment Roy had been forced to occupy himself by training with his bow and with whatever other weapons Oliver and Sara thought practical, as well as light hand to hand combat with Diggle.

His forced absence due to the stabbing, however, had meant that Roy had lost his newly acquired job, which had greatly bothered Roy, until Oliver had offered him a job working with Diggle on security. Of course, Roy had been acting as Thea's bodyguard for ages, so it wasn't a particularly significant change. The only difference was that now Queen Consolidated was paying him to do it. Roy had been hesitant at first, not wanting to be taking Oliver and Thea's money from them, but Oliver had reasoned that the cost of paying for the Queen's security actually had nothing to do with their respective trust funds, and came out of Queen Consolidated money. As it was, with everything that had happened lately, they were a little light on when it came to security guards, so it had actually been a good outcome for everyone involved.

Thea, for her part, was glad to have Roy with her so much. She trusted Diggle, and Oliver of course, but Roy was the one who made her feel the safest, and as the weeks progressed and Thea's back began to ache with the increased weight of her growing bump Thea was becoming gradually more aware of her own vulnerability.

"OK, I think. They're really active," Thea found herself answering Dr. Johns' question, and she forced herself to focus on what was happening in the present time, here in Dr Johns' office.

Dr. Johns smiled, "I'm glad. I've got your blood tests back from your last appointment and everything is looking ok. I'm going to prescribe some prenatal vitamins, just to make sure you're getting everything you and the twins need, but otherwise everything looks ok. Your iron levels are great, so that's not going to become an issue any time soon as long as that continues to stay good. You're doing fabulously Thea."

Relief flooded Thea's system, and she smiled at Roy, who was holding her hand and beaming at the news.

"Now, I understand we're going to have a look today. I noted at your first ultrasound that you didn't want to know gender, is that still correct?'

Thea nodded, "A nice surprise when they're born will be good."

"Ok…just giving you a heads up then that it might be obvious. Sometimes parents with no medical training can tell what they're having from their scans at this point…and I've had couples who haven't wanted to know, only for relatives who work in medicine to spoil it."

"Ok," Thea nodded.

"I can't picture that being an issue," Roy chuckled, "Oliver and our friends know how to keep a secret."

"That's good, I'm just warning you," Dr. Johns smiled, before she began to set up the equipment.

"I usually like to do three scans during a pregnancy," she told them as she worked, "one per trimester. If anything unusual happens then of course we'll do extras, but so far I don't see any reason at the moment why we'll stick with three for you, Thea, unless you want to do more."

"Three sounds fine," Thea nodded.

"That's good. The last scan I usually like to do at about the 34 week mark, which will work out to be…mid January…Does that work for you?"

"Yeah," Thea nodded, running her hand over her bump, smiling as she felt one of the twins kick in response. It was starting to hurt when they kicked, especially when they tried to play soccer with her kidneys, but Thea was genuinely to happy about the prospect of having children to complain about a little discomfort…for the moment. When they got bigger and the kicking became stronger it might be a different story.

"You okay?" Roy asked, putting his arm around Thea's shoulders. Thea leaned into Roy's chest comfortably.

"I couldn't be better," she told him, "I'm in love with a wonderful man, we're expecting twins who so far appear to be healthy, and everything is going well."

Roy beamed and watched as Thea made herself comfortable on the examination table as Dr. John's put gel on her stomach, before she placed the ultrasound wand on Thea's bump and switching the monitors on. Immediately the sound of the twins' heartbeats filled the room and Roy swallowed crossing over to Thea and taking her hand again.

"I'm never going to get over that," he told her honestly, and Thea laughed.

"You're such a sap."

"It's you and our babies…I don't care," Roy replied as they both looked at the screen.

"Is…is one of them sucking their thumb?" Thea asked in amazement.

Dr. Johns nodded, "Yeah…Which side do you notice the most kicking on?"

"Left, definitely," Thea replied, "although I'm noticing more and more on my right too."

"That's good. As you can see, baby on the right is the one being adorable and sucking their thumb. Probably the only reason you haven't felt them move as much as baby on the left is because baby on the left is a little bigger."

"Is that normal?" Roy asked as the baby on the left moved on the screen so that they were in a different position.

"The moving, or the size difference?" Dr. Johns asked to clarify

"Size difference…moving is normal…isn't it?" Roy replied,

"Yeah…moving is normal," Dr Johns laughed, "We don't usually see a size difference at this stage between fraternal twins, although it does happen sometimes. It's far more common in identical twins sharing a placenta, as one twin usually gets a bit greedy, but from what I can see on the scan there isn't enough of a difference at the moment to raise concern. We can clearly hear both their heartbeats, which are at a good rate, and they're both moving around actively. They both look like they're within the size range that I expected for twins at this stage of the pregnancy. We'll continue to monitor it, but there is little else we can do at this point. I, however, think that an extra ultrasound in a month will be a good idea, just to make sure everything is still going well and that they're both still growing."

Thea rapidly nodded, watching the screen, biting her lip as she prayed that everything would turn out okay, while Roy rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

"They'll be okay," He told her, "They'll be fine, you'll see."

"Roy's right. I'm not hugely worried at this point; it is nothing to get distressed about."

"They'll both be okay?" Thea asked, her voice cracking with emotions.

Dr. Johns nodded reassuringly, "They are at no greater risk than any other pair of twins at this stage of the pregnancy. You just keep doing what you have been doing. Listen to your body, and if you get worried about something you call my office or the hospital and we'll check it out."

Thea nodded, relaxing a little, as she focused on the screen once again, smiling as she watched them float around within her, safe and sound, for the time being.

They were past the half way point now, and Thea knew the remaining few months of her pregnancy would just fly by.


	12. Chapter 12

"Thanks for helping us out, guys," Thea told Oliver and Diggle as they slumped on the floor wearily beside one another, taking the bottles of beer she offered gratefully. Their shirts were drenched in sweat, and frankly they both needed a shower, but Thea wasn't going to complain. They had just helped her and Roy move into their new home after all.

It had been obvious from the moment that Thea had found out she was pregnant that something needed to change about her living arrangements. Her old loft had been perfect for her on her own, and even when Roy had practically moved in with her it was fine, but it wouldn't have worked with a baby as well…and that was even before they knew she was having twins.

In their spare time Roy and Thea had begun looking for a suitable alternative. It had taken a little time, but eventually they'd found the perfect place…another loft style apartment in a highly secure building that had four bedrooms, although Thea and Roy planned on their twins sharing a room until they were about two, and lots of natural light…a good place to start off their life as a family. Thea knew that once the twins were older they would probably want to move out of the City a bit, so that they would be able to have a backyard, while still being secure and safe, but that was in the distant future.

Thea could hear Roy and Felicity in the twin's room, talking as they put together one of the cribs she and Roy had bought. The other one was already assembled and tucked into a corner of the room that would become the nursery when the twins were born. There was still more things that needed doing, and Thea was looking forward to getting creative with decorating the apartment to make it feel more homelike, but for the moment all of the essentials were done and mostly unpacked. Sara and Laurel were unpacking boxes in the kitchen, Thea had already organized her and Roy's bedroom and put away all of their clothes. Felicity had arranged Roy and Thea's book and DVD collections (although Thea didn't quite understand the order she had used, despite Felicity explaining it to her), while Roy, Oliver and Diggle had done the heavy lifting, bringing in furniture from the trucks they had hired.

Leaving Oliver and Diggle to drink their beers in peace, Thea walked across the room towards where Sara and Laurel…although Thea had to admit that these days when she walked it was more of a waddle.

"How is it going here?' she asked.

"Almost done…hopefully you'll be able to find everything." Laurel laughed.

"It'll make for an interesting few weeks if I can't," admitted Thea, rubbing her back. Even though she hadn't done much (Oliver had threatened to tie her down if she tried) her back was a little sore…although if felt like it was always a little sore these days. Dr. Johns had told her it was to be expected, but it was still really uncomfortable.

As if knowing that their mother was thinking of them, one of the babies kicked strongly, and Thea fought the urge to wince. In the last few weeks the babies kicks had gotten much stringer, with the baby trapped in the right hand side of her womb now the more active of the two. She'd had an ultrasound a few days earlier, the extra, additional one that Dr. Johns had recommended after finding out that one of the twins was smaller at her 24 week scan.

At the most recent scan it was obvious that the twin on the right was still a little smaller than his or her sibling, although they were still growing at a good rate. It had been enough to eradicate any concerns Thea had about the health of her unborn children, as far as their size and development so far was concerned.

Now, at six months pregnant, with only twelve weeks to go, everything looked like it was coming together. She and Roy had moved into the home they would share with their twins…who were growing and looked to be healthy. It was almost Christmas, and also Thea's birthday, and for the first time since the Queen's Gambit went down Thea found herself genuinely excited about the festive season, as December marked the anniversary of the Queen's Gambit sinking. This time next year she and Roy would have their twins, and they would be planning their first Christmas…and not long after, their first birthday.

"Hey," Roy greeted, putting his arms gently around her from behind, his hands resting over hers on her bump.

"Hey yourself…are you guys finished in the nursery?"

"Oliver took over for me," Roy explained with a shrug, "he's better at speaking Felicity."

Thea, Sara and Laurel all snorted at Roy's comment, and Thea leaned back against Roy comfortably.

"You ok?" he asked, brushing her hair out of the way so he could press a quick kiss to her neck.

"Yeah…just getting tired," Thea admitted, "It's been a big day, and I was too excited to sleep last night between today…and the fact that your kids were practicing sparring last night."

"Any chance we can blame Uncle Oliver for that one?" Roy asked hopefully as Sara laughed.

"That's a good idea," Thea reasoned with a smile, "We'll go by that theory."

"We're almost done here, and then we'll get out of your hair…you need to rest and have a good night's sleep," Laurel observed as she and Sara quickly worked to finish unpacking.

"She's right," Sara agreed cheerfully, "and you need to take it easy too. You've still got at least a couple of months before the twins get here…that's plenty of time to get everything ready. Just a little bit every day and you'll be done with ages to go."

"And if you need any help you just give us a call," Laurel added.

"That goes for me as well," Diggle chimed in, joining the group and putting his now empty bottle of beer in the bin.

"We appreciate it," Roy nodded gratefully as Thea's eyes welled with emotions at the generosity of the people around her.

Despite everything she'd been dragged through since Oliver's return from the dead. Thea couldn't complain about the friends she'd made along the way.


	13. Chapter 13

"So…have you guys put much thought into names?" Felicity asked as she and Thea relaxed in front of the TV in Roy and Thea's new apartment, surrounded by shopping bags containing mostly baby clothes and toys, although there were a couple of things for Felicity and Thea as well.

The pair had spent the morning doing some intensive shopping, with Roy and Oliver chaperoning them to stop them from going too crazy. One the girls and their shopping were safe and sound in the apartment they had left to do some training, although Thea doubted that either of the men would be capable of doing much. They'd both looked fairly wiped out physically once the shopping trip was over. In fact, despite being 30 weeks pregnant, Thea was the one who had lasted the best out of everyone.

"A little," Thea shrugged, "But we're not committing to anything until after they're born. Roy's adamant that he doesn't want any names from his family being used, so that narrowed down the options a bit, but there are still so many that we have on our short list."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Felicity mock pouted.

Thea laughed, "Oh…I'll tell…when I don't have two aspiring soccer players using my kidneys and each other for kicking practice."

"I thought you said it wasn't so bad these days," Felicity pointed out, concern seeping into her voice.

"Only because they've run out of room," Thea shrugged, wincing as she shifted her weight, "I feel like a beached whale…honestly…and they're only going to get bigger…making me bigger. I swear, you're just as bad as Oliver with the whole being overprotective thing."

Felicity shrugged, before a wide smile broke out on her face, "Did you see Oliver when he was playing with Arabella on the weekend?" 

Thea snorted and nodded, "I think Roy and Diggle were about to wet themselves. I am so glad Laurel managed to record it on her phone. She showed her dad last night when she had dinner with him and Sara and apparently his reaction was almost just as funny."

"Who knew that infamous Starling City Vigilante knew how to play tea parties?"

Thea giggled, smiling fondly as she remembered the party they'd had the previous weekend. It had been a combination housewarming and baby shower, and it had been fun. Lyla and Diggle's usual babysitter was sick with the flu, so they'd brought Arabella along. Now 15 months old, Arabella had decided that her godfather looked bored, and decided that he needed to play tea parties with her on Thea and Roy's living room floor….or at least Thea guessed that was what Arabella's reasoning was. The toddler greatly enjoyed talking happily to herself and to anyone who would listen, but a lot of what she said was hard to understand. Her favorite word, at the moment, was bubble, according to Lyla and Diggle.

The memory of Arabella playing with Oliver and being generally adorable had carried extra weight with Thea and Roy. They'd watched the toddler, Roy's arms around Thea as he rested his chin on her shoulder, both of them with their hands over her now very prominent bump.

"That'll be our babies soon," Thea had told Roy softly, "we'll be mommy and daddy, and they'll learn to walk here, and they'll learn to talk here and they'll play here, and when they're a little bigger they can play with Arabella, and they can all gang up on Oliver together."

"And he'll love every minute of it," Roy whispered back, "and when they're learning to walk and they fall over Oliver will be the one freaking out about them hurting themselves."

Thea had snorted, "He so would," she agreed, although, admit it, the first few times we'll be just as bad. What do you think their first word will be?" Thea asked

"Research is that it's usually Dad, mainly because it's physically easier to say for babies than mom," Roy had thoughtfully replied. Thea had quirked her eyebrow at him in surprise.

"Although mom will be a very close second, and will obviously become their favorite word very quickly," Roy had very hastily added, misreading Thea's look.

"I'm not annoyed that you said dad," she'd told him before kissing him, "I'm pretty sure most dads don't do as much research into things as you do. Our babies are so lucky to have you as their daddy."

"Not as lucky as they are to have you as a mommy," Roy had replied, kissing Thea softly and trying to convey everything he felt into the gesture. Thea smiled as she remembered the kiss, of how it had made her feel. Despite the rollercoaster ride her emotions had been through the pregnancy nobody could say that Roy hadn't been supportive and patient.

"I wonder what other sorts of games Uncle Oliver is going to get dragged into over the years," Felicity mused, drawing Thea from her thoughts.

"I don't know…but it'll be good for him. It'll be nice for him to have more innocent people around him to remind him of all of the good things in the world," Thea offered, although she kept to herself the thought that the only person who might ever challenge Felicity for the role of being Oliver's figurative light in the darkness would be the child of Felicity and Oliver themselves, should one ever be born. Roy and Thea's children might go close, but Thea knew that nothing would be able to take Oliver away from Felicity.

And God help anyone who tried.

ARROW/TEEN WOLF

Roy carefully packed away the leftovers from Christmas dinner, as Oliver finished drying off the last of the dishes. Neither of them were even bothering to his the sideways glances they were shooting towards the couch in the living room, where Thea had fallen asleep after the Christmas lunch the three of them had shared, exhausted and drained of energy. Roy knew that she needed the sleep. Being 33 weeks pregnant with twins was tiring enough, and Thea hadn't been sleeping very well lately. Roy was often woken up by her tossing and turning, and even with the special pregnancy pillow Thea had bought she was complaining that she couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in.

"Do you recon I should try getting her to bed, or should I just let her sleep there?" Roy asked Oliver quietly. Oliver paused, before he put away the glass he was drying.

"She looks comfortable there," he reasoned, "Let her be, she needs the sleep."

"That's what I thought. She'll probably wake up again soon anyway…one of them has a habit of sitting right on her bladder."

Oliver cringed sympathetically on Thea's behalf. In the last few weeks Thea had told him about how uncomfortable she was now that the twins were so close to being due. They were growing quickly now, and Thea's body was definitely feeling the strain.

"She didn't eat much lunch," Oliver observed, and Roy nodded.

"Yeah…she's been eating less at breakfast, lunch and dinner, but she's having more food in between meals. The doctor said that was normal…her stomach is too squished by the twins to handle big meals."

"Makes sense," Oliver agreed, "as long as she's still eating enough."

Roy nodded and put the last container of leftovers in the fridge. He and Thea wouldn't need to cook for at least a few days, which would be good.

"How are you coping with things?" Oliver asked him, and Roy shrugged.

"Thea's the one that's going through it all…I'm fine."

Oliver lifted his eyebrow questioningly, "Roy…in just less than two months you are going to be a dad to a pair of twins. You've done a great job watching Thea and looking after her through all this, and you've been working hard at training and when we're patrolling you haven't put a foot wrong. I know that you're focused on Thea…and I appreciate it, but I'm asking about you. I know that you don't have any family, or friends, outside of the group…and I don't want you to feel underappreciated."

Roy stared at Oliver, looking very much like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"Has Thea said anything?" he asked.

"She mentioned to me yesterday that although I was her big brother you looked up to me as though I was your big brother too, and that you needed to talk to someone about how you felt about everything," Oliver explained, "I know Diggle offered at the start of things, but I just wanted you to know that I'm here too."

"I'm scared," Roy admitted after a lengthy pause, "my real dad died when I was little…I barely remember him. My mom remarried when I was five, and my stepdad was…is…a horrible person. I don't want to become like him. I don't know what a dad is supposed to do with his kids. I never had that. I'm a screw up…a failure. What if I stuff up? I've stuffed up everything else in my life…but I can't stuff this up. Not my kids" Roy's voice cracked, and Oliver stepped towards him, pulling him into a tight hug as Roy sobbed and buried his head into Oliver's broad shoulder, while Oliver rubbed his back soothingly.

"Hey…you're going to be a great dad, Roy. You are not a screw up or a failure. You're a good man, doing good things for the good of your city. You protect people that can't or shouldn't have to defend themselves. You look out for your family and friends…you're loyal and brave, and you love Thea with every fiber of your body. You're 100% devoted to her, and when the twins are born you are going to be devoted to them too ok? You're going to be a great father, and your kids are going to love you. You aren't alone in this. You've got Thea, and me, and Diggle, and Laurel, Sara, and Lyla. It will be fine, trust me."

Roy took a few deep, steadying breaths, before pulling out of Oliver's embrace, his face flushed from the outburst, and from embarrassment.

"Thanks Oliver," Roy offered, ducking his gaze and avoiding meeting Oliver's gaze, "for everything."

"Thank you," Oliver replied, using his thumb and pointer finger on Roy's chin to redirect the younger man's gaze back towards him, "for looking after Thea over the last few years when I couldn't, for whatever reason. There is no-one on earth I would trust to be her boyfriend…the father of her children, more than you."

A shy smile broke across Roy's face, "I don't know what Felicity has tried to tell you, but you telling me all this does not mean I'm going to tell you what names we're considering."

Oliver's face fell, "Damn," he pouted, "she's been trying to get me to help her find out for months."

Unseen by both men, from her place on the couch, Thea smiled, having woken up just before Roy and Oliver had started talking, and pretended to be asleep during the whole thing, while at the same time listening intently to the entire conversation. She was glad that Oliver had taken her up on her advice and spoken to Roy as Roy's friend and mentor, instead of Thea's big brother, a role that these days Oliver was having a very hard time letting go of.

Relaxing Thea let herself drift back off to sleep, surrendering herself to sleep while she still could. It wouldn't be long before sleep became a precious commodity for both her and Roy; it seemed a shame to waste the opportunity when it presented itself.


	14. Chapter 14

"So…you can stop it?" Thea anxiously asked Doctor Johns from her hospital bed, Roy standing beside her and holding her hand comfortingly. Dr. Johns nodded reassuringly.

"Yes…If we administer the drugs now it should stop the labor from progressing, but it is not always affective, and in many cases it only gives us a few more days, or even a week, before labor starts again, and if that happens it will be best if we let things proceed naturally. I would, however, like to admit you to hospital, at least for the next few days, for monitoring."

Thea nodded wordlessly, her eyes were wide with fear. It was New Years Day, and she had woken to pains that felt different to the Braxton Hicks contractions she had been experiencing. Roy had driven her straight to hospital... both of them not daring to say what was foremost in their minds. At only 33 weeks pregnant it was far too early for the twins to be making their way into the world, yet upon arrival a quick examination by a nurse in the maternity unit had confirmed that Thea was indeed in the very early stages of labor, and Dr. Johns had been immediately called.

"Do it," she said, "they're not ready now…"

Dr. Johns nodded and made her way out of the room to make the necessary arrangements, while Roy gently kissed the top of Thea's head as she sobbed.

"It'll be okay," he told her, rubbing her shoulders gently, "They'll do everything they can to keep the twins in there for as long as possible.

"I'm scared," Thea admitted, "What happens if they can't stop it?"

"Then the twins will be born. You've read the same books I have, Thea. At this point they're mostly developed. Yes, they'll need to stay in NICU for a bit, yes, there is a risk of complications, but this is the best maternity unit in the state. They know what they're doing, and they will do everything they can to keep the twins healthy, ok?"

Thea nodded, leaning against Roy's chest and huddling close to him as Oliver strode into the room.

"Thea, what happened?" he asked, his concerned look going from Thea to Roy, and back to Thea. Thea sniffed and stretched out an arm to Oliver, who strode closer to her and gently embraced her, rubbing her back as Roy began to explain.

"Thea woke up to contractions this morning, so we came here. She is in the very early stage of labor, and they're going to use medication to try and stop it from progressing any further," Roy reported. Oliver nodded, holding onto Thea a little tighter. The three of them were silent for a few minutes, Oliver holding Thea, while Roy rubbed her back gently.

It didn't take long for Dr Johns to return, accompanied by two nurses, one of whom was wheeling an IV stand. The nurses set things up, while Dr Johns addressed Thea, Roy and Oliver.

"Ok, so we're going to set an IV line for you, Thea, to administer the drugs though. It means we won't have to keep giving you needles, and we have a way of making sure you stay hydrated. The first drug we're going to give you is the one that's hopefully going to stop the labor from advancing. The second one I'm going to administer is a growth stimulant for the twins. Chances are that they're going to be born at some point this week, so we want them to be as big and as developed as possible before then. The growth stimulant will trigger a growth spurt for the twins just to give their growth and development a bit of a boost until they're born. The last thing I'm going to be giving you are basically some additional vitamins and minerals, because, due to the growth stimulant the twins will be drawing more energy from you than they do normally, so this will also help with that. You may notice you might be a little more tired than usual, which is another side effect of the treatment. Upping your nutrient intake through the IV will also help you when the time comes for the twins to be born," she explained clearly. Thea nodded, although Roy was eyeing the IV with distrust. Oliver and Thea exchanged grins, both of them knowing full well how much Roy hated needles.

"Thea, have you got any questions sweetheart?"

"No," Thea shook her head, her brain still trying to process everything that she'd been told.

"Now, I know you were connected to a fetal heart monitor when you first arrived, and everything was fine, but I'm going to connect you up with one again now, just to make sure that the twins are still relaxed and aren't becoming stressed. I'm also going to arrange an ultrasound in a few hours so I can see how big the twins are."

"If...if they're born now or at some point during the next few days how…how bad could the complications be?" Roy asked gingerly, ducking his head to avoid making eye contact.

Dr Johns smiled sympathetically, "There is a good chance there won't be any long term complications at this point, over 80 percent chance of no ongoing health issues. At this point they are basically fully developed except for their respiratory system. We can manage that by keeping them in the NICU and with the equipment we have at the hospital. They will have a low percentage of body fat, so they will probably have trouble regulating their body heat. Again, this can be easily managed in the NICU, and will fix itself once they gain a bit of weight. Feeding is another area where we see slight issues with premature babies, as the suck swallow reflex can take a little bit of time to kick in, so we may need to consider intravenous feeding until they're a bit stronger. Realistically, barring complications or any setbacks, I imagine that the twins have at least a two week stay in the NCIU before they can go home, although it might be three or four weeks. Of course, this might change, and at the moment I'm only speculating on what may occur."

"I'm sorry," Thea sobbed, her eyes welling with tears as she reached the hand that the nurses weren't working on for the IV out to Roy, who took it immediately.

"It's not your fault, Thea. They'll be fine. There wasn't anything you could have done to prevent this. Besides, they're doing all they can to hold things off for a bit. All we can do is try to stay calm and let the doctors do their thing."

Thea sniffed and nodded, and Oliver let her go, discretely moving her so she could lean back against Roy like she had been when he'd walked in.

"Roy's right" Dr. Johns counseled as she administered the drugs into Thea's IV beg and recorded them in Thea's file at the foot of her bed, "these things happen and it is very often not clear why. I'll be back soon to check up on you."

"Thanks," Roy nodded as Thea nodded, and Oliver rose to his feet and shook Dr Johns' hand.

"You're all most welcome." Dr Johns nodded before she made her exit. The two nurses checked Thea's vitals, before they reminded them to call if they needed anything, and making their exit as well, leaving the three of them alone in the room.

"They'll be ok," Roy whispered to Thea the moment they were alone, "Think about who the twins are related to. Your dad honestly scares the crap out of me, your brother survived five years of literal hell, your mom was one of the strongest women I have ever known, and then there is you, the best thing that has ever happened to my life, who could kick my ass with one hand tied behind her back, and who is also one of the strongest, but also the most compassionate, kind, loving, and clever women I have ever met."

Oliver took Roy's hushed speech as his clue to leave, and he quietly slipped out of the room, but not before he saw the deep, passionate kiss Thea was giving Roy.

Allowing himself a wry smile, Oliver walked down the corridor to the waiting room, not at all surprised to see Diggle, Felicity, Sara and Laurel all there.

"How's Thea?" Felicity asked anxiously, "When I got your text about Roy taking her to the hospital I got so worried."

"Thea went into labor at some point this morning, and woke up with contractions. Roy brought her here. It's still very early stages, and they've given her drugs to stop the contractions, and to speed up the twins' growth a bit to give them the best chance possible. The doctor said that by this point there is still an over 80 percent chance of there being no permanent complications, but there will probably be some minor, short term ones."

"How are Thea and Roy handling it?" Laurel asked

Oliver shrugged, "Roy's holding Thea together, but they're both scared."

"I couldn't even imagine what they're going through," Felicity shuddered, hugging her arms around her chest. Oliver caught the look on Diggle's face, and knew that Diggle was imagining it. Oliver knew how uptight Diggle had got in the weeks immediately preceding Arabella's birth, and knew he was probably mentally putting himself and Lyla in Roy and Thea's position right at that moment.

"So…what happens now?" Sara questioned.

"We wait and we hope the drugs work, at least for a few more days," Oliver admitted, dropping down into a seat, "I'm staying here in case they need me. You guys should head home, there's not a great deal we can do."

"I'll stay with you, you don't need to be alone while you wait," Felicity offered, sitting down beside him. Wordlessly Diggle, Laurel and Sara sat down too, although Diggle pulled out his phone and was focusing intensely on it. Oliver caught enough of a glimpse of it to know that Diggle was looking at all of the photos of Arabella he had on it.

Oliver startled when he felt something touching his hand, and glanced down, staring at the hand that was gently resting over his own. His gaze tracked up the arm attached to the hand, his eyes falling on Felicity's concerned face.

"You ok?" she asked. Oliver took a steadying breath, and nodded.

"For the moment."


	15. Chapter 15

"I know that you weren't ready to come out before, but my back sure wishes you did," Thea groaned as she rubbed her aching back, glaring half heartedly at her swollen stomach. In reply one of the twins kicked, and Thea's glare softened into a smile.

"Stop beating each other up…there's plenty of time for that once you're older." She scolded gently, before she laughed.

"Are you actually encouraging our twins to beat each other up once they're older?" Roy asked from the doorway, holding Thea's lunch in his hands.

"No…but it's not like they're going to remember everything that I said to them while they were still inside of me," Thea reasoned. Roy chuckled and walked into Thea's hospital room, handing the bag of food over. Thea reached into it hungrily, pulling out a burger, some fries, and container of soft serve. She pulled the top off her burger, and started putting fries inside, before she replaced the bun on top, and dipped a couple of the leftover fries into her soft serve, eating it blissfully, ignoring the sappy smile on Roy's face as she enjoyed the salty and sweet combination.

Almost a week had passed since Thea had been admitted to hospital, and although she was connected to her IV most of the time, Dr. Johns was very happy with how things were going. The growth stimulants she had been administered were working, with her twins growing quickly within her, ready for when labor commenced again. Dr Johns, Thea and Roy had all agreed that the next time Thea felt contractions they would let things proceed naturally, as Thea was almost 35 weeks pregnant, and according to Dr. Johns, there was the same chance now of any permanent complications than there would be if Thea went to full term.

Thea, for one, was grateful. She'd always had a slight build, and her body was really beginning to feel the strain of carrying two babies. Even though she wasn't doing anything except for lie in bed and play candy crush on her phone and talk to whoever was visiting her at the time (and she was never alone...Roy and Oliver had developed a roster to make sure of it) she still felt tired most of the time, and slept far more than she did normally. Dr Johns had told her it was normal, and not to worry about it, but Thea didn't like it. She was fit and strong, and she didn't like feeling so weary all of the time.

"What?" she asked Roy once she had finished, raising her eyebrow questioningly. Roy smirked, and leaned forward, kissing her and licking a trace of ice-cream left on her lips.

"Have I told you today how much I love you?" Roy asked in reply, and Thea smiled, her cheeks coloring slightly.

'Yes, but feel free to tell me again," she told him confidently. Roy leaned forward again, his lips brushing Thea's.

"I love you," he whispered in a low voice, "I love you with every breath I take, with every inch of my body. I will love you until the moment my heart stops beating, I love every hair on your head, your eyes, your ears, your cheeks and the way you blush when I compliment you, your lips…I especially love those," Roy broke off to press another chaste kiss to Thea's lips as her blush deepened.

"I love your jaw, and the way you move it when you're angry, I love your neck, and your shoulders, I love your arms, and your hands…your fingers. I love your heart, and your blood, I love your body,"

"Even when it's fat like this?" Thea asked, gesturing to her stomach. Roy quirked his eyebrow and bent so his face was level with the large bump. Pointedly, he kissed it through Thea's pajama top, "I love how you look, whether it is when you're 34 weeks pregnant with our twins, or when you've only just woken up in the morning, or when you've gotten dressed up to go out somewhere. You can't be anything other than beautiful, Thea." Roy kissed the bump again.

"I love that you're doing this, even though I know you're not very comfortable. I love that you love our children so much already."

Thea reached down and roughly pulled Roy's head up towards her, kissing him passionately.

"I love you too," she replied simply, before she kissed him again, both of them loosing track of them as they were lost in the moment. It was only when the pain in Thea's back began to build that she pulled back, focusing on the pain and noticing how it was starting to creep around her sides towards her front, around her belly. Thea froze, and she knew her alarm was evident from the look of fear on Roy's face.

'Thea…Thea what's wrong…talk to me. Are you ok?"

"I…I think I'm in labor again," Thea stammered, "It feels like it did on the first. I've only noticed one contraction, but the way my back's been hurting lately it's possible that it's been going on for a bit."

"Hey…hey, its okay," Roy reassured, "You're in the right place. Besides, Dr. Johns said that she was happy for labor to start naturally yesterday, and to let it happen on its own. It'll be okay."

Thea exhaled and let out a laugh, "Oh my God, they're actually on their way…we'll be parents soon."

Roy smiled and gently pulled Thea into a hug, kissing the top of her head, "Yeah…I guess we will be…Do you wanna call Oliver this time, do you want me to do it?"


	16. Chapter 16

Thea exhaled as her latest contraction eased, loosening her grip on the back of the chair she had leaned on when it had started. She could feel Roy's hand rubbing up and down her back comfortingly, and although he wasn't in the room at that point of time, she knew Oliver wasn't far away.

Neither Roy nor Oliver had left her side for very long once her labor started. Felicity had likened them to a pair of mother hens, fussing over their chick, and the comparison had made Thea laugh, despite her discomfort.

Oliver had made Felicity, and Diggle go home for the night, but Thea was willing to bet that Diggle was already back, and she was honestly surprised that Felicity hadn't made an appearance to check up on her yet. Dawn had broken over the city over two hours earlier, and if Thea felt inclined to look out of the window she would see the city bathed with winter light, the sidewalks below busy with people going about their business.

Despite how much time had passed since she'd started feeling contractions once again Thea felt as though not much was happening. Various nurses had assured her she was doing well, despite how slowly her labor seemed to be progressing, and Dr. Johns had been happy when she'd examined Thea only half an hour ago.

Thea herself was maintaining a semblance of being calm. The contractions were still only coming every twenty minutes or so, and lasted about twenty seconds, before easing. She had been able to sleep for a great deal of the night, only waking up occasionally due to a contraction, or because a nurse had entered the room to check on her, and each of those times she'd managed to fall asleep straight away. It had been a far longer night for Roy and Oliver, who had both only managed to get an hour or so of sleep during the night, according to one of the nurses. When she'd first found out Thea had felt sorry for them, but now, with the contractions becoming a little more painful and her labor dragged on with not a great deal of progress, she found her compassion waning.

Still, Thea was grateful for their presence. Both Roy and Oliver were being very helpful, knowing what Thea needed almost before she did, whether it was someone to lean on during a contraction, or someone to give her a drink, or just something to keep her mind of things.

"Hey, you okay?' Roy's voice gently cut through Thea's thought process and she smiled, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Yeah…I just thought they'd be here by now. It's been what…sixteen hours since the contractions started?"

"Almost sixteen, but not quite yet," Roy gently corrected, "but I get what you're saying."

Thea was tempted to hit Roy for the comment, but instead she just glared at him, although a glance at the clock on the wall told her that he was right. It was still another half an hour before she hit the sixteen hour mark…not that the sixteen hour mark was any magical. Dr Johns had advised her and Roy that, at the eighteen hour mark, if things hadn't started progressing a fetal heart monitor would be attached to Thea's abdomen so that the twin's heart rates could be monitored, and, assuming they were going okay and were not becoming stressed, it would be mid afternoon, about the 22 hour mark, before Dr. Johns would consider administering drugs that could help speed the process up a little. N Of course, that plan was very flexible, and if things started going wrong nobody was going to waste precious time for things to happen on their own if a c-section or some other form of intervention was needed.

Thea understood Dr. Johns' schedule, the plan had always been for her to have a little medical intervention as possible, and she knew that labor often took a long time, especially with first time mothers, but she was at the same time very excited about finally getting to meet the babies she'd carried within her for the last almost 35 weeks.

At least, Thea thought to herself, it wouldn't be too much longer.

ARROW/TEENWOLF

"How's Thea going?" Felicity asked as she saw Oliver and Diggle sitting in the small, though private waiting room they'd been assigned when Thea had gone into labor the second time. Having a private waiting room seemed strange to Felicity, but Oliver hadn't looked all that surprised, so she guessed it was just one of the perks of being a member of one of the wealthiest families in Starling City.

"Slowly," Oliver replied, rubbing a weary hand over his face, "Although they say its normal, considering it's her first time."

"They're right. My mom was in labor with me for 25 hours," Felicity told them with a shrug. Oliver slumped a little in his seat.

"I just didn't realize it would take this long," he admitted, "I can't believe how calm Thea is."

"Well, she has been trained by Merlyn," Diggle pointed out, "And she's mentioned how much he focused on controlling her emotions and teaching her to ignore pain. It's probably paying off a lot right now I imagine."

"Looks like your night at the hospital has drawn attention," Felicity reported, trying to distract Oliver from his concerns by showing Oliver her tablet screen, which was filled by numerous online articles reporting that it looked like the birth of Thea Queen's twins were imminent, if it hadn't happened already. There were even a few photos taken of Oliver the previous day when he was arriving at the hospital. Of course, since Thea had been admitted to hospital on New Year's Day there had been numerous reports to that effect, but the fact that Oliver had been seen walking into the hospital, with both Felicity, Diggle and then, the Lance girls arriving a little later, and Oliver staying behind overnight, had lead to journalists deciding that obviously something was going on within the hospital walls.

"The PR branch of Queen consolidated can handle that for the moment," Oliver shrugged. He knew that Thea had asked him to be the one to make a formal announcement to the press once the time came, just as Oliver's father had done when Oliver and Thea were born, and Malcolm had done when Tommy had been born. Theoretically it should be Roy making the announcement, but no-one was going to force Roy, still very new at the sort of lifestyle that came with being involved with the Queen family, into running a press conference like that. When Thea had brought it up Roy had looked like he was only moments away from either throwing up or passing out at the very thought. Oliver was the next best option.

The time for that press conference, however, was not now, and indeed would only take place well after the twins were born, once Thea and Roy had decided on names for their newborn children and the like.

"I've got our security guys working in the foyer and at the entrances to this level…the lift, the stairway, it's all covered. The press isn't going to get any closer than the front door of the hospital," Diggle reported, and Oliver nodded, happy to know that at least they were safe from prying eyes.

"Laurel called. She has a case in court this morning, and she has some meetings this afternoon, but she'll come as soon as she's done, and Sara was patrolling last night, so she's having a sleep and checking up on things at Verdant before coming to see how things are going," Felicity told Oliver and Diggle. Oliver nodded, slumping in his seat a little, his thoughts drifting back to Thea once he'd processed the information Felicity was telling him.

His sister...the same baby sister who he'd helped learn to walk, who he'd taught to ride a bike…the same little sister that had been one of his most sustaining thoughts when he'd been on the island, was about to have twins. He was going to be an uncle…and Tommy was too. Neither of the twins would ever meet their other uncle…and Oliver would never forgive himself for that fact.

Thinking of Tommy made Oliver think about Tommy and Thea's relationship over the years. When they'd been younger Oliver and Tommy had been inseparable, and that had meant that Tommy had been as much Thea's brother as Oliver had, even though none of them had known about Malcolm being Thea's biological father. Tommy had been there for Thea's first wobbling steps, had given her her first slice of cake behind Raisa's back, had helped teach her how to swim, had been right there ready to pick her up again when she fell off her bike. Really Tommy had been more of a big brother for Thea than Oliver had been, even before Oliver got on the Queen's Gambit. After that it had been Tommy who had been the one looking out for Thea, as much as he could, and Oliver could only be grateful towards Tommy for looking after Thea when Oliver hadn't been able to. Sure, Thea had been struggling, but Oliver knew without a doubt that Thea would have been a lot worse off if she hadn't had Tommy there for her.

And now Tommy wouldn't ever get the chance to meet his nieces or nephews…the children who, if he hadn't been so involved in Thea's life, probably wouldn't exist. Oliver inwardly resolved that he wouldn't let Thea's children grow up not knowing about their uncle Tommy. Not while he was still around anyway.


	17. Chapter 17

"Oh God that hurt," Thea exclaimed weakly as she rested her head against Roy's shoulder, her sweat dampened her sticking to her flushed face. Roy wiped the hair way with a wet cloth, trying to cool Thea's skin.

"Thea…are you with me?" Dr Johns asked from where she stood at the end of the bed.

Thea nodded, focusing on her breathing, just as she'd been taught in her Lamaze classes that she'd enrolled in throughout her pregnancy.

"You're transitioning from the first stage of labor to the second stage. You are fully dilated, so next contraction when you want to push, I want you to start pushing, alright."

"Oh my God, finally," Thea smiled, as Roy kissed the top of her head and held her close. In total so far it had been 26 and a half hours since her labor had started, and now, finally, it was time for her twins to enter the world.

And now was the first time that the pain was actually getting bad. Thanks to Malcolm's training methods Thea had a very high pain tolerance, and she'd never been more grateful for it than she was now. As the next contraction began Thea bore down, pushing strongly against the pressure between her hips, her breath coming in pants as the contraction carried on until it eased.

"That was perfect," praised Dr. Johns, "if you keep that up the twins will be here before you know it."

Thea couldn't help the tired smile that crossed her face at the news, and shifted so she was a little more upright. She'd stayed on her feet as much as she could during her labor, trying to let gravity do as much for her as possible, but as the day had drawn on and the contractions came more frequently and with more intensity it had been harder and harder for her to have enough energy to continue on like that, even with her contractions not being very painful (by Thea's standards)

Half an hour had passed since her waters had finally broken, and she'd been taken into the delivery room at last, Roy never letting go of her hand for longer than a second. He'd been with her all day, no-one, not even Oliver, being able to coax him away for longer than it took to go to the bathroom. Thea had been relieved to have Roy's unwavering support, as her fears and insecurities had come in waves over the day as he labor had stretched on. Roy's presence at her side had been a constant reassurance for Thea when her emotions became too much for her.

Roy had been there for her throughout the whole thing, rubbing her back when she'd thrown up, listening to her when she spoke, before seeming to know exactly what words to say to make her feel better. When she got frustrated and shouted at him Roy just took it and waited patiently for her to settle down again, shrugging away her apologies and simply saying that he knew she didn't mean it, and that he got it.

Now though Thea was leaning into Roy's side, trying to refrain from yelling as another painful contraction began, dragging out before ending, only for another to begin. Thea bore down with everyone, tears rolling down her cheeks, Roy holding onto her comfortingly as she tried to bring their children into the world, her hands gripping her knees tightly as she pushed.

Time lost all meaning for Thea, the only things she was aware of was the contractions, and of Roy beside her, anchoring her to reality.

"Ok, Thea, stop," Dr. Johns instructed from her place between Thea's legs after a particularly strong contraction and Thea looked wearily up at the woman, her chest heaving a little as she breathed deeply, her legs spread as wide as Thea could manage.

"I can see the first baby's head. I need a few really strong pushes, and then, once he or she gets a bit closer to being born then I'll get you to do small pushes to avoid you tearing, ok?"

Thea nodded, feeling a little stronger now that she knew that all of her pushing was paying off and that the first twin was almost born.

As the next contraction began Thea began pushing, feeling her strong muscles tighten around her babies, pushing them closer and closer to daylight. She could almost feel the first baby inching lower and lower within her.

With the following contraction Thea pushed strongly again, only to break off half way through to gasp in pain at a new sort of pain, between her legs as the baby's head began to press against her opening.

"Ow…oh God that hurts," Thea gasped, letting go of her leg and instead tightly gripping Roy's hand.

"That's baby's head," Dr. Johns offered, "this is where we need little pushes, Thea. Next few contractions I want you to not push so hard so it happens slowly," she coached gently. Thea nodded, shooting a sideways glance at Roy, who had tears shining in his eyes.

"You're amazing and I love you," he told her, "just keep going, you're doing perfectly."

Thea nodded and focused on the next contraction, pushing much more gently this time, letting out a low moan of pain as the pressure between her legs worsened. When the contraction finished, Thea kept pushing into the next one, eager for this part be over, her moans and cries of pain increasing as the discomfort increased, before suddenly the eased off again.

"Alright, Thea…the head is out, and the cord is not around the neck. Next contraction I want you to give me a really strong push for the shoulders", Dr. Johns instructed.

Tightening her grip on Roy's hand, Thea leaned forward as much as she could, bearing down as much as her waning strength would allow, weariness taking its toll after a lengthy labor and the amount of effort she'd used already trying to deliver her baby. She pointedly was avoiding thinking about how she would need to do it again soon, when her second baby decided to follow his or her older sibling into the world.

Thea groaned and pushed again with the next contraction as well, feeling the baby turning and inching forward within her.

"Okay, one more should do it," Dr Johns told her gently.

Thea looked tearfully over at Roy.

"This is it," she told him, a smile breaking out on her face. Roy kissed the top of her head, brushing her sweaty hair off her face.

"You can do it," he told her. As the next contraction began Thea bore down, pushing as hard as she could, gasping and stopping pushing mid way through the contraction when she felt the pressure between her legs suddenly disappear. He held her breath, tears shining in her eyes, for a few seconds, before she heard the sound she had been waiting to hear ever since that fateful morning on her apartment floor…the sound of her baby crying.

"Congratulations, it's a little boy," Dr Johns told her, gathering the baby into her arms and depositing him on Thea's chest gently. Thea's arms wrapped around the baby protectively, tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks as she beheld the child that she and Roy had created together for the first time in real life. The baby cried strongly, his fingers curling into fists as one of the nurses passed Thea a cloth to wipe away the excess fluid on his face and body.

"Hey they, little guy," Thea crooned gently, "I guess I'm your mommy, huh…God you're so tiny, and adorable."

Thea turned her head to look at Roy, the smile on her face widening when she saw the tears rolling down his cheeks as he hesitantly reached out a tentative finger towards his newborn son.

"Hi buddy," Roy softly greeted, "it's okay, we've got you, you're oak," he told the baby gently, his eyes filled with love and adoration, before he glanced at Thea and kissed her.

"He's perfect," he told her happily, "You're perfect, I'm so proud of you. I love you so much, Thea"

"I love you to Roy," Thea replied, kissing him gently, before they both looked back at their son, whose cries had calmed down a little now.

"Roy…do you want to cut the cord?" Dr Johns asked. Roy smiled and nodded weakly, leaving Thea's bedside and cutting the cord that had connected Thea to their firstborn. Thea leaned back against the pillows, smiling happily at her child as Roy rejoined them, his hand resting on the baby's back gently.

"I love you so much," Roy told the baby, "You're going to be so loved growing up, you know that?"

As if he was replying, the baby gurgled, before breaking off into a wide yawn. Thea snorted.

"I know, right. Being born is such hard work," she told the baby, who snuggled comfortably against her chest, still awake, but looking sleepy and content, his unfocused eyes looking towards his parents. Thea could literally feel her heart gushing with love for the tiny baby in her arms, and she found herself looking forward to the moment when she could cradle both of her children in her arms, when her son's younger sibling joined his or her big brother in the world.

"Can I take him for a bit, Thea, just so we can check him over?" Dr. Johns asked quietly, obviously reluctant to break up the little family. Thea nodded, passing her son to the doctor and watching sadly as he was moved away to be weighed, measured, and to be checked over. The nursed were quick about it, and within a few minutes he was returned to Thea's arms, wrapped warmly in a blanket.

Thea took the opportunity to take in her son's features, recognizing many of them. Their baby took strongly after Roy already. He had Roy's jaw line, and his nose, and the same shaped eyes that his father had.

"He looks like you," she told Roy confidently, "he's going to be a mini you."

"Is that a good thin?," Roy asked.

"Yes," Thea replied, kissing Roy, while Roy traced his finger along their son's jaw line, "I kind of wanted him to look like you if he was a boy. Do you want to have a cuddle?"

"Sure," Roy nodded, carefully accepting their son into his arms as Thea passed him over. Roy cradled the baby boy carefully in his arms, leaning against the pillows so Thea could see him, the three of them cuddled together as much as Thea's still swollen stomach allowed.

Time lost all meaning, and Thea had no idea how much time had passed before she was brought out of her watching of her firstborn by a particularly strong contraction, a painful reminder that her work was only half done. She groaned, holding her stomach and bearing down a little with the contraction, while Roy looked up from his position beside her, cradling their firstborn against him.

"Looks like baby number two is on his or her way," Dr. Johns told them, Jen, could you please look after baby number one for Roy?'

Roy handed their first born over to the relevant nurse, but not before kissing his son's forehead.

'I'm sorry, little guy, but I need to help you mommy bring your little brother or sister into the world, ok. When he or she is here then we'll have more cuddles, I promise." He told the baby, who blinked sleepily in response to the words and didn't seem to protest being passed over to the nurse. Roy grabbed Thea's hand gently as another contraction began and Thea pushed with it, letting out a keening moan. Beside the bed one of the monitors began to make a loud noise.

"What's that?" Thea asked, her voice cracking with alarm. Dr Johns glanced at the relevant monitor, a frown crossing her face.

"Second baby's heart rate is a little fast, he or she is getting a little stressed, but your contractions have been good so far, we just need him or her to be born as quickly as possible."

The doctor's words were enough to spurn Thea's exhausted body into finding new sources of strength, as she pushed long and hard through the next few contractions, barely giving herself time to rest in between. It seemed to be paying off, as it didn't take very long for Dr. Johns to touch Thea's leg gently.

"Okay, honey, I can see the head, you're doing great. It looks like we were luck and they both kept their heads down…It's going to make things a lot easier, for you and for baby."

"You hear that, Thea? He or she is almost here, you're doing so great. I love you so much, it won't be long now," Roy encouraged, cupping Thea's face in his hands as he spoke to her. Wearily Thea looked into Roy's eyes.

"I…I can't...I can't do this," she whispered, her energy drained from the last few strong pushes.

Roy nodded his head, "Yes…yes you can, Thea. You can do this. You're so damn strong…stronger than any of us, you can do this."

"Roy," Thea shook her head, tears streaming down her face, mixing with her sweat. Roy grabbed a cloth and wiped the warm moisture away, before he kissed her on the forehead soothingly, although Thea didn't miss the look he sent towards the monitor that was displaying their baby's heart rate. Unable to help it, she glanced over as well, noticing that the unborn baby's heart rate had continued to lift. More tears leaked from Thea's eyes as her breath caught in her throat.

"Hey…hey…Thea…just look at me…look at me and focus on my voice," Roy told her, gently tilting her head away from the monitor, "It's going to be okay, you can do this. I know you can. We all know you can do this."

"It hurts," Thea sobbed even as she began pushing with the next contraction, letting out a scream as she pushed. Roy kissed her head and stroked his thumbs over her cheeks, although Thea was all but oblivious, focusing instead on the pressure that was once again between her legs as the baby slowly moved down within her and began to pull at her already stretched and sore opening.

"I know it hurts, but it'll be over soon," Roy told her comfortingly once the contraction was over and Thea could focus more easily on him.

"Roy's right, Thea," Dr. Johns told them, "Baby is almost here, it won't be long now. Just keep breathing like you learned, ok Thea, and gentle pushes, like before"

"Ngggg, Ok", Thea moaned as the next contraction started, bearing down as she tried to be gentle, but still at the same time move the baby, crying out again when once again she felt her aching hole stretch against the baby's head.

"Oh my God," Thea cried out at the growing pain and pressure between her legs, pushing against it, before stopping to breath for a few seconds, before she pushed once again, tilting her head back and crying out loudly from the effort and the pain. She grunted heavily when the pressure suddenly eased a little, and she slumped wearily back against the pillows supporting her.

"Ok, baby's head is out, great job Thea. Only a few more pushes and your second baby will be here."

"How is…" Thea weakly began, glancing at the monitor. Dr Johns glanced at it, nodding in satisfaction at what she observed.

'It hasn't gotten any faster, which is a good sign, but it's still up a bit, 'she told Thea and Roy honestly, "But it isn't at a level that warrants concern. Thea, when you're ready I want you to give me a couple of really good, hard pushes."

Thea nodded, breathing as deeply as she could, before she levered herself a little more upright and bore down, her hair dangling into her face as Roy moved his hands from her cheeks to her shoulders, grabbing the top of her back as she pushed with the contraction. She paused briefly to breathe e and catch her breath, before she bore down again, gasping and grunting with effort. Suddenly the pressure between her legs was gone, and Thea felt the baby slip free of her body and out into the world. Around her nurses and midwives bustled with activity, but Thea, with Roy right beside her, were both focused on Dr' Johns who had gathered the baby in her arms and placed it on Thea's chest.

"Congratulations, it's another little boy." The doctor told them, as Thea and Roy gazed in wonder as the little baby gave a little cough before he started crying, clearing his lungs and airways of the mucous that covered his little face. One of the midwives passed Thea a cloth, and she tenderly began to wipe her baby's face, clearing it away, while a nurse passed a soft blanket to Roy to tuck over the baby to keep him warm.

"Hello little guy…" Thea greeted softly, rubbing the baby's back gently as her cried, "You're so cute and gorgeous, you know that, and you're so tiny. I thought your brother was small, but you're even smaller. You must have been the one on the right."

"He's so tiny, and adorable," Roy added softly, cupping his hand over Thea's as it rested on the baby's back. Beneath the blanket the baby kicked his legs and waved his arms, curling his tiny fingers. Roy traced his finger over the baby's hand and, Thea felt her heart melt a little when the baby latched onto Roy's finger.

"I think he looks more like you than baby number one," Roy offered gently.

Thea nodded in agreement, "He looks like Tommy. I think that's my mom's nose…but I look at him, and I think automatically of Tommy most of all. I can kind of see Oliver, a little, and me, I guess, but I think he looks like Tommy."

"I think Tommy would be proud to have one of his nephews look a bit like him," Roy whispered comfortingly, "he'd be so proud of you."

Thea sniffed and wiped away some tears with her free hand, but didn't tear her eyes away from the baby lying on her chest, snuggling into her warmth. She cupped her hand over the back of his head, feeling the soft hair that covered his head protectively, trying to help him keep warm.

"Towards the end of the pregnancy you were the one that kicked the most, I think you're going to be a fighter, just like your uncle Ollie, and your uncle Tommy, and uncle Diggs and your Daddy," she cooed, "even though you're so small now you're going to grow up so big and strong."

"Roy, do you want to do the honors again?" Dr Johns asked, offering the surgical scissors to cut the cord with to Roy, who took them, cutting the cord in the place one of the midwives indicated. Thea felt her heart skin when she realized that she wasn't pregnant anymore…that she was now, officially, a mommy. She and Roy had two little sons who were both adorable and, so far, despite being born a little early, were doing well so far.

Sure, she was tired, and she was sore, and her day was a long way from over yet, but Thea wouldn't change anything for the world.


	18. Chapter 18

As Roy stepped out of the delivery room he leaned against the wall faintly, rubbing his hand over his face, wearily, wiping away any trace of tears on his face, trying regain his composure, although he knew it was a futile effort. Witnessing the birth of his and Thea's children had left him emotionally drained and wrung out completely. His insecurities were coming back full force, and Roy felt woefully unprepared for his new role as a father.

Thea had instructed him to go and tell Oliver about the newest members of the family while she was set up in a new private room, and the twins were checked out and admitted into the NICU, although it remained unclear as to how long Thea or their sons would be admitted for. The older, bigger twin had seemed to adapt fairly well to life on the outside after being born, but his little brother hadn't adapted as well. He'd been breathing well, but he was having trouble regulating his body temperature on his own, although on a positive note his heart rate had gone back to a figure that was well within the range that was considered to be normal for a newborn.

Thea herself was obviously exhausted after the lengthy labor, and then the actual births of their sons, and she had been bleeding a little heavier than expected following their births, causing her blood pressure to be a little lower than Dr. Johns had liked.

It meant that Thea would be given a blood transfusion, and would probably not be allowed to go and visit the twins in the NICU until at least the morning. She'd be monitored to ensure her condition didn't deteriorate further, but Dr. Johns had reassured Roy that although Thea had been bleeding a little more than what was normal, it wasn't at a dangerous level yet, and Thea's blood pressure was still reasonably good, explaining that the transfusion was more a precaution to ensure Thea didn't get worse, rather than a vital medical intervention to ensure Thea didn't die or suffer long term damage.

Still, everything that had happened had left Roy feeling very overwhelmed and more than a little shaky himself, so he took a few deep breaths and carefully straightened his back, walking down the corridor to where Oliver and the rest of their little family would be waiting.

As Roy walked his insecurities, fears, worries and inner turmoil faded away as he thought about the news he had to deliver. He was a father, Thea was probably going to be fine, and their sons had very good chances of survival. At the thought of his sons Roy couldn't help the smile the broke out on his face. They were so tiny, and yet they were so strong and, and even though they'd only just been born, they were the cutest babies Roy had ever seen (although he'd never admit that in front of Diggle out of fear of being punched in the face. Diggle was adamant that Arabella was the most gorgeous baby in the entire world.)

Roy's smile only grew as he remembered those precious minutes he and Thea had spent cradling both of their sons for the first time, holding them beside each other as they enjoyed their first few moments together as a family. It had, by far, been the best moment of Roy's life, watching Thea hold their boys against her chest, and then getting to cuddle first one, then both of his children while Thea watched on proudly.

It seemed to take forever for Roy to reach the room, although in reality it only took minutes. He exhaled and opened the door, which had been kept closed to give Oliver and the others some privacy while they waited, another advantage of being as privileged and wealthy as the Queens were in Starling City.

Inside the room everyone looked up at Roy as he opened the door, hope written on their faces. Oliver surged to his feet and took a few steps forward before Roy even got the door full open, his eyebrows lifted in an unspoken question. In reply Roy nodded. A moment later Roy let out a huff or surprise as Oliver embraced him tightly,

"Roy…How is Thea? How are the twins?" Felicity asked eagerly from where she stood. Diggle, Sara and Laurel all leaned forward in their chairs, looking at him, all of them barely hiding their excitement. Oliver loosened his grip on Roy so that Roy was able to walk into the room itself, while Oliver closed the door, ensuring their privacy.

"The twins are here," Roy told them as Oliver slung a supportive arm around Roy's shoulders, "Two boys, the first one was born at 8:37 pm, the younger one at 8:58 pm. Thea's doing ok; they're transferring her into a room now. The boys are doing well. The younger one…he's a bit smaller than his big brother, and he was having a bit of trouble regulating his body temperature, but other than that so far they're doing great."

"Congratulations," Diggle beamed from where he sat, while Felicity practically bounced over to Roy and hugged him.

"I'm so happy for you," she enthused happily, "did you decide on names?"

Roy shook his head, "Thea's pretty exhausted, so we decided we'll wait until the morning before we decide on that, after she's slept for a bit. They're giving her a blood transfusion now because she was losing a little more blood than is normal, so it'll be morning probably before she'll be able to go down to the NICU."

"She'll be okay though?" Oliver asked seriously.

"At the moment she's pretty out of it," Roy admitted, "but the doctor seemed pretty confident that she'd be fine after a good sleep and the transfusion."

"That's good," Oliver nodded, before he smiled, "Congratulations, I hate to tell you this, but if they're anything like Thea, you're going to have your hands full with brining up twin boys."

"Do they obviously look like anyone?" Sara curiously asked. Roy nodded, rubbing the back of his neck at all of the attention he was getting.

"Yeah…Thea thinks that the older one is a mini version of me…and she's probably got a point. I think the younger twin looks like her, although she immediately said he looked more like Tommy."

Roy felt Oliver stiffen up beside him at the mention of his dead best friend, and inwardly cringed, hoping that any resemblance his younger son shared with his dead uncle wouldn't interfere with his relationship with Oliver.

"Either way they're going to grow up into total cuties," Sara claimed, "I bet they're adorable already."

Roy couldn't help the proud smile on his face as he thought about how cute his sons were, and Felicity mirrored the smile.

"They sound adorable, you and Thea are so lucky."

"We are," Roy nodded proudly, "Every time I look at them I can't get over the fact that they're ours."

Diggle laughed, before rising to his feet, "Sounds like how I felt the day Arabella was born. I'm going to organize security around the NICU now that we know they're here."

Roy nodded and let Oliver tug him gently out of Diggle's way so the older man could leave the room. Ever since Thea's pregnancy had gone public Diggle had been planning security at the hospital for the duration of their stay. A security guard, vetted by Diggle, Oliver, and by ARGUS would be on guard at the NICU doorway at all times while the twins were in there, being just one of the security arrangements Diggle had prepared.

Another security measure was a non-disclosure statement that had to be signed by anyone who went in the room promising not to reveal any details about Thea's children, or to take any photos with the twins being the focus of the shot. Most of the disclosure statements had already been signed, the parents of the other newborns in the NICU being very understanding about the whole thing, thankfully. The ones that hadn't been signed would need to be filled out by parents of children who were admitted to the NICU after Thea's twins.

Once Diggle was out of the room Roy turned to Oliver, "Would it be okay if you went and sat with Thea tonight?" I was going to do it, but then she told me that if I left the twins alonetonight to come and check on her then she'd castrate me personally. I think she was joking, but she's still kind of hormonal, and I don't want to take the risk, and, well, I don't want to leave the boys. I know you and Dig trust whoever it's going to be keeping guard, but…I just," Roy faded off, and Oliver squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.

'It's okay, I get it. You want to stay with the boys, I understand that. I'll stay with Thea, no problems."

"Thank you," Roy smiled, knowing his relief was showing on his features.

"It's the least I can do…you are a part of my family after all, especially now, although I've considered you family long before Thea announced she was pregnant. Now, let's go past the NICU so I can see my nephews for the first time, and then I'll go see Thea. Felicity…do you want to go home and get some rest, or are you staying."

"I'll stay, it's alright," Felicity nodded. From where they sat Sara and Laurel both signaled their intention to stay at their hospital, although they both rose to their feet, Roy able to tell that they both wanted to at least catch a glimpse of the newest members of their little group.

Leading the way, he walked towards the NICU, pausing at the glass walled room and glancing in. He couldn't see the twins from where he stood, but he guessed that the two incubators tucked into a discrete corner were the ones containing the twins.

"You coming in for a bit, say hello to your nephews and all that?' Roy asked. Oliver didn't say anything, but nodded. Felicity, Sara and Laurel all stepped back, obviously not planning on joining them. Roy was kind of grateful. As much as he loved the three girls as if they were his sisters, especially Felicity, he wanted this to be just him and Oliver.

They washed and sanitized their hands outside their room in the sink provided, before the security guard already in position opened the door for them and let them in. Once they were inside a nurse approached them, a happy smile on her face.

"Mr. Harper and Mr. Queen I presume?"

Both of them showed their photo id, and the woman nodded in satisfaction, becoming to them and leading them through the incubators, towards the back corner of the room, towards the two incubators Roy had spotted earlier. His heart leapt into his throat as he took in his boys once again, both looking comfortable and relaxed, despite the number of cords and wires they were attached to, and the monitors that were beside their incubators. Plastic tags with Thea's name on it had been placed around their left ankles, and a paper label attached to the inside of the crib announced that Baby A was in the left hand crib, and Baby B was in the right hand crib. The label also had Thea's name, and the time and date each of the twins had been born, as well as Dr. Johns' name, and the size and weight of each of the twins at birth. Roy looked at that information with interest, as it was something that he hadn't known before.

The slightly older baby boy weighed five pounds and nine ounces, while his little brother weighed in at just over five pounds, but not quite five pounds one ounce. Neither of them were very heavy, but they were both a lot bigger than they would have been had they been born when Thea had first been admitted to hospital a week earlier.

"Boys, say hello to Uncle Oliver," Roy offered, quietly, shooting a sideways glance at Oliver, and was alarmed to see the tears shining in Oliver's eyes.

'They're perfect, Roy," the older man told him, watching over his newborn nephews, not even bothering to disguise the emotion in his voice.

Roy smiled, "Thea did all the hard work," he told Oliver honestly, "she's the one who did all of this. She's the one who passed on her perfection to them."

Oliver snorted with amusement as the nurse watched their exchange, having a giggle herself at Roy's words.

"The boys are doing well, considering their size. We've already gotten them started on some donated breast milk, to keep their nutrient levels up, and to start building up their immune system. Once Ms Queen has recovered from the birth a little she'll be able to start expressing milk for them to have through their feeding tube until they're a little bigger and stronger, and then we'll try them on breast feeding. At the moment we've got them both on oxygen tubes, just to make sure that they're getting enough oxygen, although their breathing is really good so far. We're also monitoring their core body temperature, heart rates and blood pressure, but they're doing pretty good," the nurse informed them.

"They're strong, just like their parents," Oliver told her confidently, shooting a proud sideways look at Roy, who blushed, ducking his gaze to look at the twins, both of whom were sound asleep.

"I'd believe that," the nurse nodded, before she bustled away to tend to one of her tiny charges.

"I'll leave you to it. Sara or Laurel will probably stay nearby, if you need me or want to send me a message."

"Ok," Roy nodded as Oliver clasped his shoulder and walked from the room. Roy sighed happily as he watched Oliver, Felicity and Laurel walked away from the room, although Sara caught his eye and waved, before she sat down in a chair backing onto the glass wall. Another nurse approached Roy, older than the nurse that had led him to his children, checking the monitors attached to the twins, before she turned her attention to him.

"Are you staying with your twins tonight, Mr. Harper?" she asked.

Roy bit his lip nervously, suddenly uncertain about NICU visiting hours. Would he be allowed to spend the night watching over his newborn sons?

"If I can," he replied nervously.

The nurse nodded brightly, "Of course you can, we encourage the parents to come and visit their newborns. You can use one of the chairs against the wall, and you can put it in between them, you won't be in our way then, and you'll still be able to watch them."

As the nurse spoke, she moved over to one of the chairs she indicated and lifted it easily, placing it in between the two incubators, with its back against the wall of the room. Roy nodded his thanks and she patted his arm in a maternal way before she walked over to talk to another pair of parents.

Left alone, for the moment, Roy sighed and sank gingerly into the chair. It wasn't a very comfortable chair, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

He was with his children, and Oliver was watching over Thea. Despite everything that had happened in the last week everything was finally looking up.


	19. Chapter 19

When her eyes fluttered open Thea automatically shifted her hand to her stomach, now a lot flatter than it had been 24 hours before. She felt empty, and she couldn't help but look around in search of the twins, although her mind quickly remembered that they were both tucked up safe and sound in the NICU. She was, however, amused to find Oliver, his head tilted back at a painful looking angle, snoring softly in an uncomfortable looking plastic chair beside her bed. Against the wall Felicity and Laurel were slumped side by side, both of them sound asleep as well.

Looking around, though, there wasn't any sign of Roy. Thea remembered the previous evening, following their sons' birth, and how she had ordered him to stay with their sons.

Their sons…Thea's children had been born; she'd held them in her arms, admired their features, heard their cries and touched their soft skin. Thea smiled happily as she remembered those precious minutes she'd spent holding her sons, Roy right there beside her, their first few moments as a family. She'd hated letting her twins go, but she'd known that it was what needed to happen. The twins were too small and premature to go without spending time in the NICU, and despite being held in Thea's arms, pressed against her, with a blanket over him to help keep him warm, the smaller, younger twin had already been having trouble regulating his temperature, his core temperature dropping alrmingly.

It had been a vivid reminder of the potential issues the boys might face over the coming days, weeks, months and even years as a result of being born so soon. At 34 and a half weeks, or thereabouts, the twins were better off than a lot of babies born a lot earlier, but it was still well before they should have arrived into the world.

Thea moved to slowly sit up, wincing as her abdomen ached, and the area between her legs throbbed. She belatedly realized that she must have made some sort of sound, because, beside her, Oliver stirred, blinking his eyes open, and fixing a concerned look on his face as he looked at her. Thea only vaguely remembered Oliver coming into her room, not long after she'd been set up in there, and knew that he probably hadn't left the room in the time that had passed.

"Hey Speedy," Oliver greeted with a smile, "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I did," Thea admitted truthfully. She didn't feel nearly as exhausted as she did, and her head didn't feel as fuzzy as it had before she'd fallen asleep.

"You've been asleep for about eight hours, the doctors checked on you during the night, but you slept through it all. Your blood pressure is back to normal, although I think they're going to keep you here for another few days just to play it safe."

"How are the twins?" Thea asked, anxious for news about her children.

Oliver smiled, "They didn't have any issues overnight. They're breathing well so far on their own, and their heart rates are really good. Sara also reported that Roy slept a good five hours overnight."

"That's good," Thea smiled, "He needed it, and he's barely slept in the last week when I've been in hospital. He looked exhausted yesterday. I should have told him just to go home."

"No offence, Thea, but I don't think it would have worked. I saw the way he looked at the twins last night…he wasn't going to leave them."

"You've seen the twins?" Thea asked eagerly, and Oliver nodded in response.

'They're very small…and cute," he confirmed, "you should be proud of them…I know mom and dad would be…and Tommy as well."

Thea beamed, even if it was a little tearfully. Inwardly she was a little sad that she hadn't been there when Oliver met her children for the first time, but at the same time she was glad that Oliver hat met his nephews so soon after they were born.

"Have you thought about what you and Roy are going to name them?" Oliver asked gently.

Thea nodded, "We do have a couple of ideas, yeah. We were waiting until the next time we were together, once I'd recovered a bit, before we confirmed anything though."

"Fair enough," Oliver nodded, "I'm going to go tell a nurse that you're awake so that they can check you over, ok?"

Thea nodded, and Oliver rose out of his seat and moved silently out of the room, not even waking the sleeping Laurel and Felicity.

It didn't take long for Oliver to return with a nurse in toe. The nurse's footsteps were enough to bring Laurel and Felicity out of their slumber, but Thea ignored them, in favor of focusing on the nurse who had accompanied him into the room.

"How are you doing, Thea?" The nurse asked with a kindly smile as she began checking Thea's vital signs. Oliver ducked out of the room to give them some privacy, but Laurel and Felicity climbed to their feet, giving reassuring smiled to Thea as the Nurse gently, but at the same time thoroughly, examined between Thea's legs, keeping Thea informed as to what she was doing, and why.

"The bleeding has well and truly back to a level that's normal, and your blood pressure is doing great, Thea," the nurse told her once she'd finished her examination, "You'll be up and about in no time at all."

"Can I go and see my babies?" Thea asked as Oliver came back into the room.

The nurse beamed cheerfully. "Of course you can, darling. Since you've been ill I'll arrange for one of the orderlies to bring a wheelchair in here and then you can go and see your little ones. All the NICU nurses have fallen in love with the twins, they're adorable. I'm sure they'll be happy to see their mommy, I know Roy will be."

Thea smiled as the nurse made some notes in her file, before she left the room to arrange the wheelchair for Thea. Thea noticed Laurel discretely nudge Felicity in the arm, and they left the room together as well, leaving her alone with Oliver, who sat back down beside her bed.

"I was so worried about you," he confessed, "All of the nurses and doctors thought that you would be fine, but I was so scared that I was going to lose you. I've lost everyone else in my family, I don't know if I could have handled losing you as well". Thea took Oliver's hand in her own, smiling reassuringly at him.

"Ollie…I'm fine. Besides, I'm not your only family anymore. You have two brand new nephews, and Roy…and you have Felicity and Diggle, and Laurel, Sara and Lyla and Arabella."

Weakly, Oliver smiled, ducking his head a little and glancing in his lap "I guess you're right," he admitted, "I just didn't want to lose you."

"I know," Thea reasoned gently, "I get it. Ever since mom died I've been terrified of something happening to you. I know Malcolm's my dad…but it's not the same. Speaking of Malcolm…does he know the twins are here?"

"I haven't told him, but the news programs have all been reporting that you've either had them, or you're very very close to having them. Everyone known to be close to you heading to the hospital tipped them off. Queen Consolidated PR people are heading them off though, until you and Roy give the all clear for an announcement to be made."

"Can we wait until we've decided on the names? It'll mean you only have to do one press conference."

"Yeah, sounds fine by me. Just tell me when you're ready."

"Ok, I will" Thea nodded. Oliver rose to his feet, cupping the back of Thea's head with his right hand and kissing her forehead tenderly.

"I'm so proud of you, Speedy," he told her, "I always have been, and I always will be."

Thea sniffed and put her arm around the back of Oliver's neck in a hug, "Thanks Oliver…but you're making me cry, and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to cry when I see the twins, because I know I did last night when they were born, and I was trying to limit how much I cried today."

"Sorry," Oliver grinned sheepishly, "You ready to go and meet your boys again?"

Thea pulled back, wiping at her eyes with the hospital sheets.

"I am now," she nodded as an orderly walked through the door, wheeling a wheelchair in front of him.


	20. Chapter 20

Roy couldn't wipe the smile off his face when he saw Thea being wheeled into the NICU, her eyes brightening when he saw him, still sitting in his chair in between the two incubators containing their boys. Roy had lost track of the passing of time as the night had passed, absorbed in watching his two newborn sons sleeping as they recovered from being born. He had slept for short periods off and on during the night, kept warm by the warmth of the room and a blanket that had been given to him by one of the nurses.

As far as the twins were concerned there hadn't been any dramas. They'd slept for most of the night, only waking up a couple of times for short periods, during which their diapers were changed and their reflexes were checked, before they fell back asleep. At least they didn't have to worry about eating, with some of the tubing taking care of that for them.

Still, they looked quite comfortable, despite the business of the room and the tubes and monitors they were connected to. Both of the twins had little beanies on to keep their heads warm, and the monitors indicated that their bodies were at a good temperature.

Still, Relief washed through Roy's body when he saw Thea in the wheelchair, being wheeled towards him, looking livelier than she had the previous evening. Roy rose to his feet and walking towards her, wrapping her in a gentle.

"I'm ok, it's all good, I'm great," Thea reassured him, "how are the boys."

Roy sniffed, "They're perfect, they're so strong, it's amazing, and they're doing so well."

The orderly stepped back and excused himself, leaving the NICU, and Roy wheeled Thea towards the incubators containing their sons.

"Say hi to mommy boys," he told them teasingly.

"Oh my god, they're so tiny," Thea whispered softly, "and they're ok?"

"Yeah…nurses say they're doing great. They're still being fed through tubes, and the doctors are being cautious about their body temperature, but their breathing is good, heart rate is fine, and they sleep very well."

"Well, that's good. We'll appreciate that when we take them home."

"Yeah…we will," Roy agreed as a doctor approached them. Roy had met the doctor a few hours before, who had updated him on the boy's condition, and nodded in greeting,

"Thea, this is Doctor Mortimer, she's the one who the twins have been assigned to while they're in the NICU," Roy introduced.

"It's lovely to meet you, Thea. You have two very strong little boys here."

Thea beamed proudly, "thank you…are they doing ok?"

"Absolutely fine, even better than we hoped. As a precaution I would like to continue IV feeding them for the next 24 hours, but barring any complications we'll start trying them with breast feeding after that. If you want you can have a cuddle for a bit."

"Seriously?" Roy asked hopefully.

"We'll need to keep them attached to some of the monitors, but they're doing well enough to have a bit of time out of the incubator," the doctor nodded, "have you guys thought about names?"

"That's on the to do list for today," Thea nodded from where she sat in the wheelchair. Roy glanced at the name labels on both the incubators and on the plastic identification tags around the twins' ankles, the name space left blank. The time had come for names to be decided on.

Roy got out of the way as Thea, with a nurses help, transferred herself from the wheelchair and into the chair where he had spend the night, where she would be far more comfortable, and better supported when holding whichever of the twins she was given to hold. The wheelchair was put out of the way, and another chair was brought over for Roy to sit in.

Neither Roy, nor Thea minded which of their sons they got to hold, so, within a few minutes, Thea was cradling the smaller, younger twin in her arms, while Roy had the larger one cradled in his arms, both of them wrapped warmly in blankets, their little beanie covered heads the only part visible. Both of them had wires leading back to monitors emerging from the blankets, but it was relatively easy to work around those.

"So…what should we name you two then?" Roy asked the twins.

Thea giggled, "If you're waiting for them to actually reply you're going to be waiting for awhile."

"I know," Roy admitted, "I guess it's down to us then."

"Do…do you still agree with what we talked about when we discussed names?"

"Yes...I really like that idea," Roy nodded, "the question is, which one gets which name? We were kind of working on the theory it was a boy and a girl, judging from your cravings."

"I know," Thea cringed, "we might have to improvise one of the first names. Are you still happy for Tommy and Oliver to be the middle names?"

"Yes…and, well, at least this way with two boys it's more obvious….a bit better than Tommy and Olivia. Are you still thinking Robert for a first name?"

Thea nodded, "I know he's not actually my dad, but he was a way better dad than Malcolm could ever be, and the reason the Queen's Gambit went down was because he knew that Malcolm's plans for the glades were wrong. He shot himself to make sure Oliver made it, and I can't think of anyone I would rather name my son after than him."

"What about the other first name?"

"Are you still against using the name of anyone from your family?"

"Yes," Roy nodded quickly, "They didn't do anything for me. No heroes there."

Thea slumped a little,"I don't know," she admitted, "I'm out of people I want to commemorate like this…Unless there is a boy version of Felicity that we could use."

"Felix?" Suggested Roy.

"It sounds like a cat," Thea shook her head. Roy shifted in his chair comfortably, watching as the baby in his arms leapt on. The baby in Thea's arms, however, had stirred and was wriggling a little within his blankets, Thea crooned at him gently, hushing him and rocking him gently. As Roy watched one of the baby's arms wriggled free and latched onto Thea's hand.

"You're a little fighter, you know that?" Thea told the newborn gently, "I suppose it was difficult to avoid when you consider who your parents are. Never give up, little one, never stop fighting. I know you're only little now, but you'll get bigger, I promise."

A memory, long forgotten, flickered to Roy's mind, triggered by Thea's words, of a tall man with a friendly smile, ruffling his hair affectionately and telling him to be strong, to keep fighting through everything that life threw in his way. Roy had only been young at the time, eight, or thereabouts. The man, Alexander Ling, however, had been a near constant feature in his life up until that point. He'd been his father's partner at work, and had been the one who had held his father as he lay dying in that alleyway in the glades, not all that far from Verdant. Ever since Roy's father had died, Alexander had been there for Roy…the only male role model Roy had really had up until he met Oliver and Diggle. Alexander, however, had died, just like Roy's father, shot in his home by a corrupt cop while Roy, aged only ten had watched from where he'd hidden beneath the couch.

Quentin Lance had caught the one responsible, only a few days later, but Roy had never really gotten over Alexander's death, especially when his own mother had killed herself in a drug overdose when he was twelve, leaving him alone with his abusive stepfather until Roy had run away from home on his 14th birthday.

"We could name one of them Alexander," he quietly suggested.

Both Thea and the baby she was holding, turned their faces towards the sound of his voice.

"Alexander…I like that…where does it come from?"

"You know how my dad was a cop…his partner's name was Alexander. When my dad died Alexander sort of took me in under his wing. He was always there when I needed him…right up until the night he was killed in front of me when I was ten. I know he's not a member of the family, but…"

"Alexander is perfect," Thea interrupted, giving him a reassuring look, before glancing down at the baby in her arms, "isn't it? Are you Alexander?"

In response the baby let out a soft gurgling noise, and Thea giggled.

"I guess that's it then. This is Alexander."

"Looks that way…which makes you Robert." Roy glanced down at the baby he was holding.

"Robbie," Thea corrected, "He's a bit young for Robert. We'll save that for when he's in trouble."

"Knowing us we'll be using it quite a lot then," Roy pointed out, and Thea nodded in agreement.

"I think Alex should get Tommy as a middle name," Roy suggested thoughtfully, "Since he already kind of looks like him."

"You think so?" Thea asked, looking at the baby in her arms. After awhile she nodded, "Yeah…you're right. Alexander Thomas suits him."

"Which makes you Robert Oliver," Roy reasoned to the baby he was holding, "I think that suits you too."

"Yeah, I think it does," Thea agreed, craning her neck to see the baby Roy was holding, "Do you think that Oliver knows that we are going to use his name."

Roy glanced over his shoulder towards the window out into the corridor. He could just see Oliver where he sat, sitting next to Felicity, "If he doesn't already he soon will."


	21. Chapter 21

Oliver followed a nurse into the NICU and across the room to where Roy and Thea were sitting, cradling their twins in their arms.

"Ollie, come here. I want to introduce to Robert Oliver Harper-Queen…who Roy is holding, and Alexander Thomas Harper-Queen," Thea told him from where she sat, cradling the smaller of the twins…Alexander…in her arms.

"Informally, though, they'll be Robbie and Alex…unless they're in trouble," Roy added.

Thea nodded, "Which considering us…they will be fairly often."

"You…you named one of them after me…and Tommy…and dad?" Oliver asked faintly, a lump forming in this throat.

"Yeah…we did…and after a friend of Roy's dad," confirmed Thea with a smile, "Is that ok with you."

Oliver nodded, "It's…yeah it's fine with me…it's great. Thanks, I, I really don't know what to say."

"Then now probably isn't the time to ask you if you would be Godfather then," Thea smirked. Oliver, who had been looking at Robbie, sound asleep in Roy's arms, whipped his head towards his sister.

"Godfather…me?"

"Yeah…We kind of always had you as Godfather. We know that you're already Arabella's Godfather, and you're also Robbie and Alex's uncle, but if something happens to us, we know you'll take care of them." Thea explained.

Oliver's mouth had gone dry, and his voice cracked with emotion when he finally croaked out a feeble "OK."

"Do you want to have a hold?" Roy asked. Oliver could only nod in reply, carefully taking Robbie into his arms as Roy transferred him over, both of them mindful of the tubes and wires the baby was still attached to. Oliver felt his heart swell as he gazed at his nephew, cradling him in his arms…the same arms that he had killed countless people with.

His hands, usually used to deal with crime and death, now held a new life, his baby nephew, less than a day old. Looking at the sleeping baby Oliver could clearly see Roy's features, and he couldn't help but smile. Robbie was already mini Roy…he wondered if he would continue to look like his dad, or if, as he got older, he would grow to inherit more traits from his mother's side.

"I think we broke him." Thea stage whispered, "I have found a way to shut Oliver up, finally. Just give him a baby to cuddle. Tommy would be in hysterics if he could see you now."

"Tommy would be just as bad," Oliver countered, "Who were you going to ask to be Godmother?"

"Felicity, if she wants. None of my school friends are old enough or responsible enough," Thea replied, "also something that we've had planned for months."

"I'm sure she'll be honored," Oliver smiled confidently, "Now that you guys have organsied names we probably should arrange a press conference."

Thea nodded, "before you do that, can you call Malcolm and tell him the news. I know he hasn't been the best of people…but he still should know before we make it public."

Oliver nodded, "Of course I will. Do you want me to send Felicity in so you can ask her?"

"That would be great, thanks Oliver," Roy smiled. Oliver carefully transferred Robbie back into Roy arms, reluctant to let his nephew go, his arms feeling oddly empty without the newborn's reassuring weight.

"I'll be back soon," he promised, before he walked from the room and out into the corridor, walking over to where Felicity, Sara, Laurel, and Diggle were sitting waiting for them.

"How are they?" Felicity cheerfully asked.

"Doing great, they want to see you," Oliver replied.

Felicity's mouth fell open in confusion, "Me? Why me? Did they say what they wanted?"

"Just that they wanted to see you," Oliver replied with a smile and a shrug. Felicity bit her lip, before walking towards the NICU, glancing back at Oliver nervously.

"Everything ok?" Diggle asked.

"Yeah…they want Felicity to be Godmother…they've already asked me to be Godfather," Oliver replied.

"Have they picked names yet?" Sara asked.

Oliver nodded and sank into one of the chairs, "Yep, the older twin, the one that Roy's holding, he's Robert Oliver Harper-Queen, and his little brother is Alexander Thomas Harper-Queen. Informally, though, it's Robbie and Alex."

Oliver glanced sideways at Laurel as he spoke, and her eyes filled with tears at Tommy's name. He reached towards her and squeezed her hand.

"They're good names," Diggle nodded, "So, how does it feel to be Uncle Oliver?"

Oliver couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at the title, "It feels pretty good…except Thea wants me to ring Malcolm and tell him the news."

"Sounds like fun," Diggle supplied dryly, and Sara couldn't help but giggle.

"Do you think you can call the QC PR team, tell them that I'm ready for the press conference whenever they can set one up." Oliver asked Diggle

"No problems," Diggle nodded, getting out his phone and walking away to a area where the use of phones was permitted. Oliver got up and followed him, searching through his contacts until he found Malcolm's number. He knew that the only reason the man wasn't there already was the fact that, legally speaking he was dead, and there were too many people and surveillance tapes in the hospital to make sneaking in plausible. He would have to wait until the twins were at home at Thea and Roy's before he got to meet them. Before today Oliver would have shrugged it off, concluding that Malcolm was the one who decided to level the Glades, so he would have to deal with the consequences of his actiions. After holding one of his nephews in his arms, gazing down at Robbie's adorable little face, seeing Alex cradled in Theas arms, so tiny and young and innocent, Oliver's thinking was a little different. He felt a little sorry for Malcolm, knowing that the boys' grandfather wouldn't be able to meet them, or get to hold them, until they were well enough to go home. Even though they were doing well so far, Oliver knew, realistically, that it might be a week or two, or more, before the twins were big enough and strong enough to leave the hospital and go home. Not being able to see his grandchildren for that long was not going to be an enjoyable experience for Malcolm.

Oliver tapped the call button on his screen and lifted the phone to his ear as it rang. It didn't take very long at all for Malcolm to answer.

"Oliver," he greeted, "how is Thea? Has she had the twins yet?"

"She's fine. She asked me to tell you that you have two grandsons. They were born last night, but she and Roy have only just got around to naming them. Thea was pretty wiped out last night, and she was bleeding a little more than they thought was normal, so they thought they'd wait until she was feeling a little better and they'd both had a sleep."

"She's okay now, though?"

"Yeah, she's doing a lot better now, especially since she's been reunited with Roy and the boys."

"Reunited? I'm surprised Roy left her side," Oliver could almost hear the surprise, and the hint of anger directed at Roy, in Malcolm's tone

"She told him to stay with the twins last night in the NICU. He spent the whole night sitting in between their beds, watching over them," Oliver explained, "I stayed with Thea for the night."

"Makes sense…Thea's going to be just as protective of her children as your mother was. Are the boys alright…what did she and Roy decide to name them?" Malcolm asked, more cheerfully, as if his anger towards Roy for leaving Thea's side was forgiven and forgotten.

"They're doing really well, considering that they were born at the just under 35 week mark. They're pretty little, and they're being very heavily monitored to make sure they're doing okay. They're being fed through tubes at the moment, but the doctors are pleased with their hear rates and blood pressure and their breathing. The smaller twin was having trouble regulating his temperature last night, but he seems to be doing better today. The bigger twin was born first, and they named him Robert Oliver Harper-Queen. The younger twin is Alexander Thomas Harper-Queen."

"They're good names…I'm sure your father and Tommy would be both proud and honored. Thea said the last time I spoke to her that, judging from the last ultrasound she it looked like the larger twin would be first to be born. Have you seen them?"

"Yeah…Robbie is mini Roy already…and Alex…it's less obvious, but he looks more like Tommy, or maybe Thea. He's definitely got my mom's nose, though. I couldn't get over how small they both are. Roy let me hold Robbie for a bit, and it was just…" Oliver faded off, unable to think of words to describe how he felt as he'd held his nephew in his arms for the first time. Malcolm laughed.

"I know how you feel. I felt the very same way the first time I held you, ad Tommy, and Thea as well. Tell Thea that I'm happy for her, and for Roy too."

"I will."

"Thank you for keeping me informed Oliver. I know that we haven't seen eye to eye in the past, but I hope we can both see past that for Thea's sake, and her children's sake as well."

"I hope so too," Oliver agreed, before he and Malcolm both hung up. Diggle, having finished his own phone call, approached Oliver.

"How was the new grandfather?"

"Surprisingly cheerful," Oliver replied with a wry smile, "how did you go with PR?"

"They're arranging a press conference in one hour in the park next to the hospital. All of the local and major news outlets will be informed of it."

"Good, thanks Diggle."

"I took the liberty last night of picking up one of your suits from your place, so that you didn't have to leave the hospital to go and get ready. It's hanging up in the car."

Oliver paused and looked down at what he was wearing. His mother would literally roll over in her grave at the thought of Oliver conducting a press conference dressed like he was. While it had once been semi presentable, even when it had been fresh on the casual long sleeve top and jacket, as well as the jeans Oliver had on, it wasn't press conference material, let alone now, when it was all a little rumpled and probably a little smelly.

"You're a hero, Dig…I hadn't even thought of that."

ARROW

Tugging at his suit jacket, Oliver confidently stepped up onto the small platform the PR team of Queen Consolidated had set up in the park beside the hospital, walking up to the microphone and the podium that had been set up. Before him were a throng of over 100 media representatives, including cameramen (and women), journalists, sound technicians and reporters. Felicity and Diggle stood to one side, both of the smiling happily at him. Oliver too was feeling rather pleased, and was looking forward to this press conference, far more than any other press conference he'd ever attended.

As he waited for the assembled people to quiet down, Oliver remembered the very first press conference he'd been on the podium for, not far from where he stood right now, when he was only ten years old, and had stood proudly beside his father as he had announced Thea's birth to the world.

Oliver couldn't help but smile as he rested his speech, hastily thrown together by he and Felicity, on the podium in front of him, appreciating the irony of that moment as he prepared to announce the arrival of Thea's own children.

"Thank-you for all coming out here today. I'll keep this short; none of us want to be out in this cold for longer than we have to." Oliver began, his voice clear and light hearted. A few of the assembled individuals laughed, and nodded in appreciation. Early January was hardly the warmest time of year in Starling City, and this morning was a particularly cold one.

"I'm sure you all know, or suspect, the reason Queen Consolidated announced this press conference, especially given the location. I am very proud to announce that late last night my sister, Thea Queen, gave birth to twin boys."

As Oliver expected, the announcement caused an eruption of cheering and general noise from the individuals in the crowd before him. Before they even began asking questions, Oliver held up his hands, and immediately all went quiet, save for the clicking of cameras.

"Thea is doing very well, and the boys, despite being born earlier than any of us anticipated, are adjusting well. Who knew of a member of the Queen family being early for anything?" Oliver joked, "Obviously, they didn't get it from me."

There was another smattering of laughter, and Oliver, glancing sideways, even saw Felicity have a giggle.

"Thea's firstborn son has been named Robert Oliver Harper-Queen, and her younger son has been named Alexander Thomas Harper-Queen. Informally, however, they will be known as Robbie and Alex. On behalf of Thea, and of Roy, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the Maternity unit of Starling City General Hospital, and especially Dr. Johns and the doctors and nurses of the NICU who are currently ensuring Robbie and Alex continue to grow and develop as they should. I would also like to thank you all for your support throughout Thea's pregnancy, and ask that you continue to respect my family's privacy during this time."

Applause met Oliver's words, and he waited for the noise to cease before he spoke again, "To celebrate the arrival of the newest members of the Queen family, It is my honor and privilege to announce that there will be a charity fund set up to support families from the Glades and disadvantaged backgrounds whose newborns need to be admitted to the NICU at Starling City General. This will help ensure that everyone in Starling City can afford the level of care that this top of the line facility has on offer."

Even more applause met Oliver's words, as well as a few cheers as a Queen Consolidated PR representative signaled that it was time for questions.

"Mr. Queen," One reporter asked, "Have you met your nephews yet?"

"I have yes, probably one of the best moments of my life," Oliver replied honestly, unable to stop the smile that crossed his face.

"Do they look like anyone in particular?" another reporter asked.

"Robbie looks a lot like Roy already, and Alex is sort of a mix of Thea and our mother, but it's not as obvious as it is with Robbie," Oliver replied, being honest, but at the same time, keeping his answers fairly vague, a trick that his mother had taught him, years earlier. As he'd gotten older he'd learned how much information to give without giving too much away, and Oliver found, as he answered the media's questions, that it just got easier and easier the more practice he got, like archery. Eventually though the PR representative signaled that the press conference was over, and Oliver stepped down from the platform and walked away from the crowd, fully aware of the camera's tracking his every move as he approached Felicity and Diggle, walking between them as they all headed back towards the hospital.

For the first time in years Oliver was filled with hope about the future, and as he walked back into the hospital that contained his sister, one of his closest friends, and their newborn sons, that he would never let anything happen to them…ever.


End file.
